South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb)
has been shortlisted as finalists at this year’s Motor Trade
Awards.

SECAmb has been named a finalist in the Technical Excellence
Award category for the steps it has taken in relation to its Driver
Safety System and the design of its newly- delivered Ferno concept
‘connected ambulance’, which will be tested in the Chertsey
area.

The news is further recognition for the Trust’s Fleet and
Logistics department which has already celebrated awards success
this year, most recently coming top in three categories at the
Fleet News Awards.

SECAmb’s driver safety programme has been developed with new
technology linking a telematics system and CCTV to give an overall
perspective to the challenges faced by staff when responding to
patients.

The updated driver training programme has also seen the
introduction of 10 dedicated driver training vehicles – five vans
and five cars. The vehicles have been specially converted and
fitted with hi-tech equipment and driver safety technology to
enable trainers to reconstruct critical incidents and feed live
data directly into the Trust’s fleet management system.

A dynamic speed controller has also been fitted to vehicles
restricting speed and managing the acceleration profile during
normal driving, being derestricted as soon as blue lights are
activated. This technology has contributed to approximately 13%
savings on fuel equating to £800,000 a year. Overall the programme
has also contributed to a drop in the number of critical vehicle
failures.

The Trust’s connected ambulance features include a
state-of-the-art automatic stretcher which eliminates the need for
a heavy tail lift – another feature expected to deliver significant
fuel savings compared to a traditional box ambulance.

SECAmb’s Head of Fleet Justin Wand said: “These programmes
support crew and patient safety, improve ergonomics and layout and
enhance patient experience. The programmes also have the potential
to deliver significant financial efficiencies and operational
benefits. I’m extremely proud of the efforts of everyone in the
Fleet and Logistics team. This further recognition demonstrates how
far we have come in recent years to provide an effective support
mechanism for both our frontline operations and of course our
patients.”