Dozens of new dual-crewed ambulances are entering service as the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) updates its fleet.
Some of the latest consignment of 92 ambulances have already arrived at the Lewes commissioning centre where they are being equipped with radios, security cameras and digital systems. All 92 are due to be received by the end of this month.
Once they have been kitted out, a full system check of each vehicle is completed before they are delivered to ambulance stations and make-ready centres across Sussex, including Brighton and Hove, as well as Kent, Surrey and North East Hampshire.
The new vehicles are MAN Box Body Dual Crewed Ambulances and will replace the ambulance service’s oldest Mercedes Sprinters, along with 34 Fiats which end their lease in the summer.
The ambulance service said: “The vehicles are replacing our oldest ambulances as required across our region.
“As part of this vehicle replacement programme, our ‘make ready centres’ in Brighton, Polegate and Hastings will each take delivery of seven of the new double crewed ambulances (DCAs).
“We currently have 408 DCAs in our fleet. The new vehicles, like the rest of the fleet, currently run on diesel.
“We have an ambitious ‘green plan’ with a target to reduce our carbon emissions by 80 per cent over the next decade and to become net zero by 2040.
“This will see us transitioning to ultra-low emission and zero emissions electric vehicles. We currently have three electric single response vehicles (SRVs), two operating out of Gatwick and one out of Brighton.
“We will be receiving five electric Ford Transit DCAs in April, initially operating out of Banstead in Surrey as part of a working trial.”
In December, Secamb announced that it had received 17 new ambulances as part of a £75 million government investment nationwide.
The ambulance service said at the time that it expected to have replaced almost 100 frontline ambulances in the current financial year, which ends at the end of next month.
Secamb said: “Building the ambulances requires several stages, starting with MAN supplying chassis cab vehicles to WAS Poland, the vehicle converter for the ambulances.
“They fit a box body to the chassis and then build it and the cab up to Secamb’s specification, ending with a fully converted ambulance.
“The MAN Box Body was the preferred ambulance from four different options trialled at a roadshow which toured the trust.
“A demonstrator model was then taken around Secamb, allowing crews to provide feedback so options regarding equipment placing and storage could be tweaked before the vehicles reached the build stage.”
Secamb’s chief strategy officer David Ruiz-Celada said: “We have been really looking forward to seeing the new vehicles join our fleet.
“Our ambulances are a key enabler to achieving high quality of care and we should have high standards for the vehicles our clinical colleagues spend up to 12 hours a day in – sometimes more.
“This means they should be functional and responsive to drive and operate, as well as providing a functional clinical workspace.
“Critically, we need this fleet to be reliable and ready to respond when our people are.
“We have taken on board the feedback for our last Fiat build and incorporated as much of it as possible into these new 92 MAN vehicles.
“We look forward to hearing feedback from crews so we can make them even better for the next batch as we expect to continue to invest in new fleet year on year, with another 60 to 70 coming to us next year.”
Across the country, more than 500 ambulances have been delivered since last June, with the government pledging a further £412 million over the next four years to continue renewing the fleet.
Last year, Secamb started working more closely with a neighbouring trust, South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS), which serves the rest of Hampshire as well as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The two ambulance trusts have started sharing their management which some regard as a precursor to a merger of the two organisations.
