Gurney

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This article refers to medical equipment. For the novel Dune's character, see Gurney Halleck.

A gurney, known as a trolley in British medical context, is the US term for a type of stretcher used in modern hospitals and ambulances in developed areas. A hospital gurney is a kind of narrow bed on a wheeled frame which may be adjustable in height. For ambulances, a collapsible gurney is a type of stretcher on a variable-height wheeled frame, the key value of which is to facilitate moving the patient onto a fixed bed or table on arrival at the emergency room. Both types may have straps to secure the patient.

The name gurney comes from its similarity to a horse-drawn cab patented in the USA in 1883 by J. Theodore Gurney. Advanced models of collapsible gurneys have a lower frame that can fold up on contact with the rear deck of the ambulance, and have a securing device that mates with a counterpart inside the ambulance to keep it from moving during transport. Shelves, hooks, and poles for medical equipment and intravenous medication are also frequently included.