West Midlands Ambulance Service to spend £40m on new vehicles

The new vehicles will be delivered over three years, starting this August.

They will be rotated across the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) area, which includes Shropshire, Wolverhampton and the Black Country.

Murray MacGregor, WMAS communications director, said: "We've got more ambulances than we've ever had, and we're the only trust with no vehicles over five years old."

Trust chief executive Anthony Marsh said: “Along with our staff, our emergency vehicles are our most important assets. The five-year replacement policy means our staff are able to respond in a modern, high quality, ambulance fleet that is reliable and efficient and as comfortable as possible for patients and staff.

“The vehicles come with completely new equipment on board including the latest defibrillators and monitors.

“The innovation also means that we are saving money which can be reinvested into providing additional paramedics, which can only be a good thing.”

The contract for the new vehicles, which will continue to be based on the Fiat Ducato van, has been awarded to VCS of Bradford.

Mark Kerrigan, technical director at VCS, said: “Our research and development team has been developing innovative ways of saving weight which will bring a huge reduction in CO2 emissions and reduce fuel costs for WMAS. This includes aerospace-type build materials that increase vehicle durability and reduce wear and tear on the vehicles.

“Using the new materials, we have been able to enhance the crash structures, which will improve safety while also allowing us to work with the fleet department and their operational staff to develop enhanced designs which will benefit operational staff and patients alike.”

Tony Page, general manager for fleet services at WMAS, said: "VCS secured this contract following a very detailed and competitive tendering process, during which they demonstrated a high degree of innovation, engineering capabilities and build quality.

“Their designs also complied with the requirements of the recently published NHS Improvement ‘Carter Report’.

“We are very pleased to be working with a UK-based vehicle specialist, building state of the art ambulances that will allow our crews to deliver high quality patient care across the West Midlands.”