A patient stretcher is an equipment used to carry injured or ill patients who must lie flat and can’t move on their own. It takes two strong people to carry a patient on a stretcher. Stretchers are portable and are used in emergencies, especially on battlefields and in wilderness search-and-rescue operations. It is for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead, and usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles. A wheeled stretcher is often equipped with variable height frames, wheels, tracks, or skids. Stretchers are primarily used in acute out-of-hospital care situations by emergency medical services.