Need to know
For #TeamEEAST Last updated: 05 May 2024 at 15:41
Three Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs) will be trialled by Trust as part of the NHS’s move towards zero emissions vehicles.
EEAST has successfully bid for £250,000 from NHS England which will fund two electric Skoda all-wheel drive cars, an electric Vauxhall van, their conversion to medically equipped response vehicles and the necessary charging infrastructure for each of the vehicles.
The funding is part of a new NHS England pilot to support ambulance trusts to trial a range of new zero emission response vehicles. The 12-month pilot will be subject to rigorous evaluation to inform the next steps to decarbonise the NHS fleet while improving patient care.
Instructors from the Trust’s driver training team have already put the Skoda Enyaq iV 80x all-wheel vehicle to the test and found that it compares favourably with diesel equivalents being currently used.
One of the Skodas will be used as a ‘standard’ Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV), used to get a paramedic response to patients quickly. The second will be used in a similar role in conjunction with our other blue-light partners (RAF, Fire and Police), initially in Bedfordshire, but later in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Essex, as different programmes and infrastructure configurations are tested.
The Vauxhall Vicaro-E van, built in the UK at Ellesmere Port, will be trialled in various roles, including a falls response vehicle and a mental health response vehicle.
Tom Abell, Chief Executive said:
“The NHS has committed to being net-zero of carbon emissions by 2045 – five years ahead of the UK’s nationally set target. It is vital that we understand how this modern technology can help to improve our response times to patients and deliver cost savings over the longer term.
“We are therefore very pleased to take part in this pilot, which will not only help us trial the latest electric vehicles, but also enable us to start installing the electrical infrastructure that will enable us to be ready for the future.”
Ian Palmer, Driver training quality lead said:
“The implications of going carbon-free will be wide-ranging as our entire fleet will have to eventually move away from internal combustion engines.
“Initial trials have shown that with the right vehicles, infrastructure and systems we can use electric vehicles without impacting on operational performance – or, most importantly, the safety of patients.”
The £250,000 funding will also include money to install charging infrastructure.
EEAST already has 7kw chargers at a number of its sites:
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The funding will also allow the introduction of fast 22kw chargers in Bedfordshire and Essex.
EEAST covers a region of 7,500 square miles over six counties, and each year has 1,000 vehicles travelling almost 12.4 million miles to reach our patients.
It is expected EEAST will share its learning from the trial with other NHS partners and will also use the scheme to inform its own vehicle procurement in the future.
Why electric RRVs now?
The NHS has committed to be the first healthcare system in the world to reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2040
NHS England and NHS Improvement has set up a dedicated ‘Net Zero Travel and Transport Team’ to support health care systems in developing a joined-up strategy as to how this will be achieved.
EEAST tested a hybrid vehicle in 2019, this identified a number of practical challenges in terms of infrastructure, training and necessary changes to our operational model that have been incorporated into our current trial programme.
We also have already transitioned some of our non-operational fleet such as make-ready vehicles to pure electric which has been broadly successful, informing our actions now with the RRVs.
What’s the collaboration element?
The future for ambulance services as with the wider NHS is to be more integrated and responsive to patients needs in collaboration with other blue-light and health partners.
We already have partnerships with a number of agencies such as the Bedford and Luton Fire and Rescue services technical rescue unit, police officers and mental health practitioners as well as fire or military co-responders in a number of locations.
The funding for these vehicles was offered on the basis of the learning the NHS would gain as to how these different programs would be impacted and influenced by using electric vehicles.
Our diverse geography and demographics will allow us to test the vehicles in a range of setting so the learning can be extrapolated to benefit patients and services across the NHS.
How have the vehicles been tested for suitability?
The vehicles are both established electric vehicles from well-known manufacturers which have passed the relevant rigorous testing for these types of NHS vehicles.
The Skodas have already had an initial assessment with our driver training instructors and quality leads and compared for performance and handling against the existing Skoda Scout RRV.
Is the performance comparable with existing vehicles?
We have benchmarked the electric cars to work within the performance envelope of our existing RRVs.
What about the range/recharging/resilience of electric vehicles?
The implications of driving under emergency conditions and ensuring that an electrical vehicle can operate in a comparable way to a conventional RRV is one of the key aspects to this project.
We have selected a car with a maximum range of 300 miles and will look in a controlled manner to test how this allows us to operate RRV in urban, rural and coastal areas.
Before the vehicles go live there will be further testing, control measures and training for the staff involved to ensure that we can operate the cars in an effective and viable way, increasing the scope of the vehicles’ operations as we gain knowledge and confidence in the vehicles.
Do we have enough chargers?
EEAST already has chargers at nine stations and charge cards that work on public infrastructure in the same way as our fuel cards.
22kWh chargers will add significant charge into the vehicles in a short period and we will be testing how viable different charging regimens are for operational RRVs (22- 125 kWh.)
Work to install the higher capacity chargers has already begun ahead of the vehicles going live.
Due to some of the resources needing to be located on fire or police stations there are a number of approvals required to achieve this.
How is the effectiveness and viability being measured?
We have an agreed evaluation plan with NHS Improvement to ensure a suitable level of scrutiny, rigor and testing is applied to maximise learning.
What about training?
We have undertaken some initial work with the driver training team which will be expanded to successfully convert our drivers to electric response vehicles.
We will be able to collaborate with colleagues from other blue light services such as the police to benefit from any learning they have already undertaken.
When will we get to see them?
The vehicles will arrive with Trust shortly for conversion to RRVs, we will share pictures of their transition into a marked response vehicle on the Trust social media sites.
There will then be further opportunity for staff to use the different vehicles as they migrate into the different operational settings in which they will be evaluated fully.
Our intention is share with our staff as much data about the trials as we can on a microsite and post regular updates so that all staff can see the process or learning in as near to real time as possible.
When will we get more?
At the moment we will only have the three vehicles, but we will use this trial to assess the cost, practicality and operational implications and feed that into the decision around the next cycle of RRV replacement.
Published February 15th 2022