By Kirsty Gilchrist

This wooden ambulance barrow was used in Alexander Stephen & Sons’ Linthouse shipyard in Govan to ease the transportation of injured workers who required medical assistance.

Accidents and fatalities were commonplace in shipyards; a problem which was made worse by the delay it took getting the injured person to a hospital. To help overcome this, ambulance barrows were used to negotiate the tight spaces of the shipyard and carry workers safely to a doctor.

Scaffolds, or staging, were built in shipyards to provide an elevated workspace, for instance to allow welders to work on the hull. A fall from a height is still considered one of the most dangerous risks associated with shipbuilding or construction trades. This was even more so the case in the early days of industry when health and safety measures were not a priority for management, and lower wage workers received little to no support or compensation for their injuries.

Notably, St Andrew’s Ambulance Association was the first ambulance service in Scotland. Founded in Glasgow in 1882, the charity was started by a group of local doctors and businessmen who were concerned by the rapid increase in accidents resulting from the heavy machinery being introduced into industrial workplaces like shipyards.

Health and safety practices in Scotland improved in the 20th century with the introduction of work safety committees in the 1960s and the Health & Safety at Work Act in 1974, which forced employers to ensure the safety of their workforce and reduced the number of serious accidents.

The wooden Linthouse ambulance barrow may look very old and simple, but this method of first aid is still used today. For instance, being kept immobile and safe while moving at speed is a priority for modern ambulances. Additionally, paramedics use similar tools to the wooden wheelbarrow during transportation in isolated areas of Scotland when ambulance vehicles cannot reach a patient due to uneven or rocky ground.

Similarly, wheelbarrow ambulances have been used by rural communities for patient transportation. For example, by helping pregnant women in Kenya travel from remote neighbourhoods to clinics, wheelbarrows have been noted as instrumental tools for improving chances of healthy delivery.

Evolving from this original concept of a wooden cart, the introduction of mobile medical care combined with improved safety measures at work can be celebrated as a benefit for all who may become injured in isolated or dangerous locations.

Sources:

https://www.osha.gov/etools/shipyard/shipbreaking/scaffold

https://skillscaffolding.co.uk/5-scaffolding-risks/

https://www.true.co.uk/news/hazards-which-impact-shipyard-workers-past-and-present/

https://epidemic-belfast.com/injury-and-health-in-the-shipyards/

https://www.voanews.com/a/kenya-wheelbarrow-ambulances-aid-women-in-labor/2512341.html

Photographs: © Scottish Maritime Museum

Certificate: © Scottish Maritime Museum