East of England Ambulance Service using hire cars amid 'fleet crisis'

The trust's new fleet of Fiat ambulances have been beset by reliability issues, it has been claimed

An ambulance service is using hire cars to respond to calls amid claims of a maintenance "crisis" within its fleet, it has emerged.

The East of England Ambulance Trust (EEAST) has leased 15 vehicles to help during the busiest time of the year.

The union UNISON said too many of the trust's vehicles were either off the road or stuck outside hospitals.

The ambulance service said the leased vehicles would not be used for people needing ambulances.

However the leased cars, which do not have markings, blue lights or sirens, will be used to get to patients requiring medical care.

It is understood they can only be driven at normal speed limits.

Unison claims the introduction of lease cars was a "sticking plaster" to help the trust deal with demand while a significant number of regular fleet vehicles are out of action for repair or service.

In October, almost a quarter of the trust's 500 ambulances were off the road with the majority undergoing unplanned maintenance.

According to a report, a third of the trust's fleet is nearing the end of its planned five year operational life and almost 40% of the trust's vehicles in Suffolk and North East Essex are not currently operation.

The document said: "We are working nationally with colleagues to address concerns about the reliability of our Fiat fleet."

One staff member who spoke with the BBC anonymously said: "The biggest issue that EEAST has is vehicle unavailability.

"They have bought lots of off-the-shelf ambulances to cope. The Fiats are terrible at reliability. They break down lots."

The BBC previously reported how taller EEAST staff members had problems fitting into the cabs and that the trust was ordering new Ford ambulances to address the problem.

Unison's Glenn Carrington claimed the trust's vehicle fleet was "in crisis" due to maintenance problems and hospital delays

Glenn Carrington, who chairs Unison's EEAST branch, said the trust was going through a "fleet crisis".

"I've lost count of the number of my colleagues who have turned up to do extra shifts only to be sent home because there aren't the vehicles available," he said. "If ambulances aren't spending most of the day queuing outside A&E, they're off the road with maintenance problems.

"It's clear that something desperately has to be done."

He said the hire vehicles would be stuck in traffic without markings or blue lights and paramedics would not be able to rush to emergencies.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We have put more vehicles into service at the busiest time of year to better respond to people across the East of England.

"We have also bought 12 Renault ambulances to get more crews on the road treating patients.

"Both of these needed quick decisions. Our fleet managers discussed with union colleagues as soon as possible, including an invitation to a working group in early December. We look forward to continuing our constructive relationship with our unions."

They added that in December, response times had improved compared to the previous year.

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