Citroen Relays for West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has just taken delivery of the first of six Citroen Relay 40 L4H3 HDi 160 vans, which have been specially converted for frontline emergency ambulance duties.

The Relay 40 L4H3 HDi 160 - the largest and most powerful panel van available in the range - has been built to West Midlands Ambulance Service’s A&E specification, with added features so it can serve as an Alternative Response Vehicle (ARV).

The Relays’ bespoke specification includes a heavy lifting hoist and a Ferno Harrier electric lift stretcher with bariatric capability, along with standard emergency response items such as defibrillator, spinal boards and oxygen equipment. GifaCollet of France was responsible for the Relay conversion, in partnership with specialist ambulance converter Oughtred & Harrison of Goole.

West Midlands Ambulance Service’s regional head of fleet, Graham Cann, explains: ‘The Citroen Relay ARV is unique in this country. It has taken a year to build while undergoing a series of rigorous test procedures. The ambulance is currently being used in training to ensure all staff fully understand how to use its many new features and specialist equipment.’

The Citroen Relay ARV will become fully operational later this year and will be joined by five further Citroen Relay A&E ambulances for front line response service duties during 2009 and 2010. West Midlands Ambulance Service will retain the Relays for five years, in line with the Trust’s replacement programme.

West Midlands Ambulance Service operates a considerable fleet of Citroen vehicles, including 50 Berlingo Multispace, seven Relay Combi minibuses and 30 L4H2 Relays - all of which are used for patient transport duties. In addition the Trust has 10 Citroen Relay 40 L4H3 HDi 160 vans converted for use as major incident response vehicles. It attends over 720,000 emergency incidents a year in an area covering 5,000 square miles and serving a population of 5.3 million people living in Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Coventry, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Birmingham and the Black Country conurbation.