NHS Wales ambulances: More money to replace ageing fleet

The new ambulances will be more modern and fuel efficient

Some of Wales' ageing ambulances are being replaced as part of a £10.2m investment.

Funding for 100 new vehicles, which include 33 emergency response vehicles and 25 ambulances, has been announced by Health Secretary Vaughan Gething.

The new ambulances will be more manoeuvrable and meet the latest emissions standards.

It is part of an upgrade of the 700-strong fleet, which started in 2011.

Other new vehicles will be 33 non-emergency transport vehicles and nine specialist major incident vehicles.

The Welsh Ambulance Service on average receives 1,314 emergency calls per day - a number which has been continuously rising and has nearly doubled in the past 25 years.

• £9.5m upgrade for ambulance fleet

• 5,000 hours waiting to hand over patients at north Wales hospitals

• Investigation after 23-hour wait for ambulance

The Welsh Government has invested almost £55m in new ambulance vehicles over the past seven years.

Mr Gething said: "This investment will enable the Welsh Ambulance Service to upgrade its fleet to ensure it has the most appropriate vehicles to deliver the best care for the people of Wales."

Richard Lee, the Welsh Ambulance Service's director of operations said modern ambulances and equipment were essential.

He added: "Our ambulances and response cars in Wales are some of the most modern and well equipped in the UK and this funding will allow us to continue to replace our vehicles and crucially the clinical equipment that they carry as they reach the end of their working life."