Be Safe In The Back

The #SafeInTheBack campaign is being led by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE) on behalf of all UK ambulance services to highlight the serious implications of not wearing seatbelts or harnessing patients properly in the back of ambulance vehicles.

In late 2022 AACE undertook a survey of frontline staff across UK ambulance services to capture experiences and opinions of the current practice in relation to the wearing of seat belts and application of harnesses in the back of ambulances.

Some of the key findings showed:

• A high proportion of staff did not wear a seat belt during any part of their most recent journey in an ambulance.
• A relatively low percentage of staff wore seat belts during their entire most recent journey in an ambulance.

Safe use of seat belts and harnesses in the back of an ambulance is a statutory requirement. It is the law that anybody travelling in the back of an ambulance MUST wear a seatbelt, the only exception being the specific times when a patient is receiving clinical care from the staff member concerned. Once that care has been delivered the staff member is legally required to then re-engage their seatbelt to continue the journey.

Please only remove your seatbelt to undertake a time critical / lifesaving intervention, where there is no time to stop the ambulance first. If you do need to do so, advise the driver that you have taken your seatbelt off and ask them to pull over as soon as it is safe to do so.

A short video here shows the results of an impact during a crash text.

The full video of the #SafeInTheBack campaign can be viewed here.

Published 18th August 2023