'World-class' ambulance to improve care and safety

The new ambulance will replace the island's old one, delivered in 2007

A new ambulance is set to improve patient care and safety in Alderney, health bosses say.

Ambulance and Rescue Guernsey said the new emergency vehicle, equipped with the latest "life-saving technology", would replace its previous ambulance delivered in 2007.

Chief executive Mark Mapp said the technology in the ambulance was "absolutely world-class", adding: "We're proud to be delivering this to the people of Alderney".

"Not only does it have the most sophisticated medical equipment to ever arrive on Alderney's shores, it also allows for safer patient transfers through the use of a self-loading electronic stretcher for better manual handling and a powered carrying chair," he said.

The ambulance service said the vehicle's technology included an advanced cardiac monitor, with the ability to stream real-time data to clinicians in Guernsey or Alderney.

It also said the States of Alderney offered financial support for the ambulance.

Mr Mapp said: "The vehicle is smaller than a Guernsey ambulance, has specially been chosen for the narrower roads on Alderney, and is equipped with four-wheel drive so it will be able to access many places a conventional road ambulance couldn't.

"None of this would have been possible without the support and commitment of the States of Alderney, whose ongoing engagement in improving pre-hospital emergency services in Alderney has been crucial to the transformation of care provision in recent years."