Three Rapid Response Vehicles will be trialled by East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust as part of a wider NHS move towards zero emissions vehicles.

EEAST has successfully bid for £250,000 from NHS England which will fund two electric Skoda all-wheel drive cars, an electric Vauxhall van, their conversion to medically equipped response vehicles and the necessary charging infrastructure for each of the vehicles.

One of the Skodas will be used as a ‘standard’ Rapid Response Vehicle, used to get a paramedic response to patients quickly. The second will be used in a similar role in conjunction with our other blue-light partners (RAF, Fire and Police), initially in Bedfordshire, but later in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Essex, as different programmes and infrastructure configurations are tested.

Tom Abell, Chief Executive of EEAST, said: “The NHS has committed to being net-zero of carbon emissions by 2045 – five years ahead of the UK’s nationally set target. It is vital that we understand how this modern technology can help to improve our response times to patients and deliver cost savings over the longer term. We are therefore very pleased to take part in this pilot, which will not only help us trial the latest electric vehicles, but also enable us to start installing the electrical infrastructure that will enable us to be ready for the future.”

The funding is part of a new NHS England pilot to support ambulance trusts to trial a range of new zero emission response vehicles.