GENEROUS GIFT

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 144, 14 March 1939, Page 5

GENEROUS GIFT

New Ambulance With Trailer AUCKLAND BENEFACTOR Dominion Special Service. AUCKLAND, March 12. The gift of a new ambulance with a trailer, which will be equipped with medical and surgical requirements, has been made to the St. John Ambulance Association, Auckland, by Mrs. Bertha Wilson, Remuera. The offer, which has been most gratefully acknowledged by the chairman of the Auckland Centre, Mr. C. J. Tanks, was made in commemoration of the donor’s father, the late Sir Edwin Mitchelson, and the new vehicle will be known as the “Edwin Mitchelson Ambulance.”

The provision of an ambulance trailer was an innovation in New Zealand, said the manager of the association. Mr. S. E. Laugstone. Its value during emergency situations could not be overemphasized. The trailer could be transported to the scene and casualties could be given more than first-aid treatment. In cases of serious accidents distant from the city the trailer, with a staff of doctors, nurses and attendants, could be speedily rushed to the spot. “The trailer in such contingencies would serve the same function as an advanced casualty clearing station in warfare, and cases could be handled in emergency and after treatment be evacuated by ambulances,” added Mr. Langstone. Specifications had recently been prepared for the construction of a trailer of the type to be provided through Mrs. Wilson’s gift, continued Mr. Langstone. They provided for an interior floor space of 16ft. 4in. by 6ft. 3in. An emergency operating table would he provided, with water-sterilizer, surgical equipment, ice-boxes, radio and telephone installation and receptacles for all sorts of dressings and medieal comforts.