London’s ambulance service already has 42 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles in its emergency fleet, but now it’s adding 12 bright, shiny all-electric ambulances designed by Ford for emissions-free first response – and the first full-service electric ambulances in the city. London is pouring some $39 million into “greening up” its emergency vehicles.
To make the all-electric ambulances, Ford collaborated with specialist converter WAS to come up with creative solutions to meet a few specific needs of first responders in London. For one, the ambulance “can sustain a 12-hour shift,” can power essential functions like heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and auxiliary supplies, according to the UK’s National Health Service. Plus it comes with a few neat features, like the ability to scan the vehicle to make sure it’s fully stocked and ready to go after a patient has been treated.
Daniel Elkeles, chief executive of the London Ambulance Service, called these vehicles a “game changer for ambulance designs across the world.”
“We’ve had electric patient transport vehicles and support vehicles, but until now, we haven’t had an electric ambulance responding to life-threatening emergencies in London,” he said. “Not only will these ambulances help us deliver outstanding care to our patients, they are critical to our efforts to cut our environmental impact and play our part improving London’s air quality.”
The vehicles come equipped a powered trolley bed system, a powered carry chair, and an integrated scanning system that checks and updates the ambulance’s inventory after each patient.
The first four ambulances have been delivered as part of the initial batch of 12, arriving in a few months, part of a larger order piloted by NHS England’s Net Zero Travel and Transport team. Collaborating with the London Ambulance Service and four other ambulance trusts, this initiative aims to gather real-life data to guide the future deployment of zero-emission emergency ambulances.
London has the largest emergency fleet of EVs in the UK, with 42 electric fast-response cars (the aforementioned Ford Mach-Es) and three electric motorcycles. In total, the fleet has 160 zero-emission vehicles. Ambulance stations, too, come equipped with 56 charging stations to keep their vehicles juiced and ready to roll.
The UK government aims to allow only zero-emission cars and vans from 2030, with the NHS responsible for 4% of UK greenhouse gas emissions every year.
New York tech and mobile healthcare company DocGo also has a zero-emission ambulance, reportedly based on the Ford E-Transit, with 100 vehicles in New York City, but it also operates in cities such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Nashville, as well as in Canada and the UK.
Main photo credit: London Ambulance Service/NHS
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