TV viewers across America have seen the state-of-the art emergency ambulance that is saving lives in Wales.

 

 

 

 

The £115,000 vehicle developed by the Welsh Ambulance Service was the star of the latest episode of ‘How Do They Do It’, a documentary on the Discovery Science satellite channel.

 

It was screened three times last week and as well as the vehicle itself the programme featured Welsh Ambulance Service trainer Kevin Doyle and paramedics Osian Roberts, from Llandudno, and Graham Plumridge, from Barry.

 

The revolutionary new vehicle has now been rolled out to all ambulance stations in Wales and can be regularly seen on every street and road.

 

The programme was made for the Discovery Channel by WAG TV and production manager Kelly Hood said: “Many thanks to the Welsh Ambulance Service for making this series such a huge success.

 

“We are still waiting for Discovery Europe to screen it but the US have run it first on the back of the last series as the viewing figures were so good!

 

“It is likely to hit UK screens later this year, likely to be as late as April.

 

“It went very well and we got the kind of footage we needed so we were very happy with the way everything went.”

 

Susan Monaco, who directed the Ambulance story for production company Wag TV, said: “The initial idea for this story was to demonstrate the technologies and processes that enable the Ambulance services to do what they do.

 

“As we investigated the story more we came across the ‘new’ model ambulance which led us to the idea of exploring how this newest model operates.

 

“We were interested in investigating how this fascinating and life-saving technology operates and how the members of the Welsh Ambulance Service daily utilise their vehicle to protect the lives of the people in their care.

 

“We chose to film with the Welsh Ambulance Service because we wanted to shoot the story within in the framework of a fleet of the new model ambulance to enable us to give the viewer the whole picture of ambulance technology from their manufacture to their daily use.

 

“Working with the Welsh Ambulance service and the new ambulances was fantastic, it was so interesting to experience and record how these two halves of this clearly important service operate together to insure our safety.

 

“We are very pleased with the result of the filming and are looking forward to the viewer response to this series.”

 

The introduction of the new ambulances began last March and has coincided with a significant upturn in performance by the Welsh Ambulance Service.

 

That month, for the first time in two years, ambulance emergency responses across Wales exceeded the target of 60 per cent of life-threatening emergencies reached within eight minutes.

 

That pattern has been maintained as the new ambulances have continued to be rolled out to crews across the country.

 

It has been very much a Welsh project with senior managers and staff from the Welsh Ambulance Service working with manufacturers UV Modular to develop the new ambulance with all its specialist equipment and features.

 

It has already attracted attention from other ambulance services and even from Europe with emergency services in Spain keen to introduce the vehicle.

 

The ambulances with their specialist lifting equipment, satellite navigation and easy to repair and maintain features, are being produced at UV Modular’s factory in Brighouse in Yorkshire and are still rolling off the production line.

 

Based on the Mercedes 515 Sprinter van, they are on the roads all round Wales now with their distinctive rear door and hydraulic tail-lift.

 

The key man in their development has been Welsh Ambulance Service National Fleet Manager Tony Cowley who said: “The new vehicle has done incredibly well and the crews are very happy with them, they love them.

 

“The staff are coming off their 12-hour shifts quite refreshed because they’re not doing the amount of lifting they used to so they’re much healthier as a result. It’s gone down extremely well.

 

“In the US they don’t have the type of sophisticated manual handling equipment which we have on these vehicles so I wouldn’t be surprised if this doesn’t spark a few enquiries.”

 

Figures showed that three-quarters of all ambulance staff retire early because of back and other physical problems, but the new on-board handling equipment on the Welsh ambulances means patients will only have to be lifted once.

 

The hydraulic tail-lift and a special hydraulic stretcher and a wheelchair aim to reduce the number of muscular-skeletal injuries to staff.

 

Paramedic Osian Roberts was part of the working group which helped design the new ambulances and he said: “The vehicles have been in service now for nine months and they have made a tremendous difference to us all in the way we do the job.

 

“The tail lift has been a huge success with staff who no longer have to push patients up ramps

 

“The difference is that these vehicles have been designed not only for the patient but around the work we do.

 

“The vehicle comes with all the equipment that saves us lifting and if we don’t have to lift as much, we will be in a lot better shape at the end of our career and hopefully be able to enjoy our retirement.

 

“The saloon layout is also very good with almost everything you need available from the attendant’s seat.

 

“To support the vehicles we’ve had chargers fitted to the stations so the batteries are always charged up.

 

“The New Mercedes 515 also drives really well and is so visible with the new lighting systems which helps when responding to an emergency calls.”

 

The initial finance for the new ambulances came in a £16 million cash injection announced last October which has paid for an upgrade of the Welsh Ambulance Service fleet, including 119 of the new ambulances, and so successful has it been that in March the Welsh Assembly Government made another £6.3 million available.

 

That will pay for another 30 of the ambulances as well as other specialist vehicles and Mr Cowley added: “It looks right and it feels right and it’s much more comfortable for patients and for staff.

 

“In this country the North West Ambulance Service have already ordered 45 vehicles and ambulance services in Spain are interested in it.

 

“I know that UVM believe it goes a long, long way to meeting all the requirements of a modern ambulance service.

 

“That’s thanks to the fantastic investment we received from the Welsh Assembly. That’s hard-earned money that people pay in taxes and we’re investing it wisely to ensure that we have vehicles which are fit for purpose.”

 

The chairman of UV Modular, Peter Howard Jones, a Welsh-speaker from Abergwyngregyn in Gwynedd, said: “As a Welshman I’m very proud to be part and parcel of the regeneration of the Welsh Ambulance Service.

 

“This is a tremendous vehicle and has everything a modern A and E vehicle needs – I believe it will become the definitive vehicle of choice for UK ambulance services.”