A MOVE to electric vehicles is set to save ambulance bosses millions of pounds.
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS) will be one of the first ambulance services in the country to introduce electric cars as part of its fleet and is expected to save £2.5 million in fuel costs over the four year lease period.
RRVs are cars that have been converted into emergency response vehicles.
One of the new RRVs which is being trialled by North West Ambulance Trust
They are designed to be able to attend emergencies quicker than regular ambulances because they are smaller and can get through traffic more easily.
Although they don’t generally carry patients to hospital, they are staffed by a paramedic who is able to administer life-saving treatment at the scene of an emergency.
Neil Maher, assistant director service delivery support said:
“The trust relies heavily on rapid response vehicles to be able to attend patients as quickly as possible.
“The introduction of these electrically powered cars will not only provide huge cost savings for the trust, it will also have a huge impact on our carbon footprint, reducing the carbon contribution from our RRVs from 1379.28 tonnes to 100.8 tonnes, a reduction of 73 per cent.”
The trust believes maintenance and lease costs will also be reduced with the introduction of the new RRV model, with an overall expected annual saving of over £4,300 per vehicle.
Read more: Lancashire Telegraph