Abstract: A stretcher for moving hospital patients from place to place to place has a bed portion carried by a chassis preferably with suitable conventional means for raising and lowering head and foot portions of said bed portion with respect to said chassis, said chassis having a wheel at each of the four corners thereof is improved so as to be easily operable by one man instead of the usual two, by providing means, operable from the head end of the stretcher, for causing the swivel frame of one wheel at the foot end of the stretcher to turn and maintain the plane of the wheel in any desired direction, said means is preferably operable through a telescoping guide member.

Abstract: A stretcher having a bed portion or patient supporting surface carried by a chassis portion having a frame comprising laterally spaced longitudinal tubular members of rectangular cross section running longitudinally and horizontally the length of the stretcher and horizontal members one of which is welded perpendicular to each end of the two longitudinal members and extends equidistantly beyond each of the longitudinal members. At each end of the horizontal members is a castor wheel assembly carried rotatably in a swivel frame. The main feature of the present invention is a hydraulically actuated brake shoe that is controllably moveable toward and away from the castor wheel. The shoes have a cylindrical portion and are cup-like with an outwardly flared peripheral lip. The shoes are carried in an inverted manner with the cylindrical portion concentric with the axis of swivel.