Ambulance Patient Compartment Safety and Design Standards Fact Sheet

Design standards are necessary to ensure consistency in the design of safe, efficient, and effective products—characteristics critical to emergency response. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers riding in the back of ambulances must care for their patients but also protect themselves during what often is a fast, dangerous ride to the nearest hospital. This is a challenge because the patient compartments found in most ambulances rarely allow EMS workers to have easy access to the patient and necessary medical equipment while wearing safety restraints.