Ambulances to go down electric avenue

ELECTRIC power . . . (from left) regional operations manager for BMW Group Nick Withington with NWAS staff Gary Eaton, Neil Maher and Stuart Rankine

MILLIONS of pounds could be saved as electric vehicles are introduced to the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust fleet.

Electrically-powered rapid response vehicles will be trialled as part of a pilot scheme.

The move will provide huge cost savings for the trust as well as making a marked improvement on their carbon footprint as its vehicles become more environmentally friendly.

Support

Up to £2.5million could be saved in fuel costs over the four year lease period as NWAS becomes one of the first ambulance services in the country to introduce the electric cars.

The trust's assistant director for service delivery support Neil Maher said: "The introduction of these electrically-powered cars will not only provide huge cost savings, it will also have a huge impact on our carbon footprint."

As part of the trial, four electric vehicles will be added to the regular 174-strong fleet currently used by the NWAS, initially being rolled out in Bury and Rochdale.

As the life-span of the existing vehicles comes to an end, they will all gradually be replaced with the new electric models.

The BMW i3 REx AC model is designed to help paramedics attend emergencies faster.

Police and fire services across the UK are already using the model which is fitted with a system that allows the engine to be powered by petrol if the battery runs out.

Mr Maher added: "With the correct charging routines and future battery advancement it is hoped that this system will only be used on a small number of occasions to allow the trust to achieve a target of zero emissions."

He added: "This is a very exciting starting point and we are looking forward to further advances in the future."

An overall saving of more than £4,300 is expected to be made annually per vehicle.

Several electric charging points have been installed across the trust and the first vehicles are expected to be in operation by early April.