East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) is in the process of introducing three new electric solo response vehicles as part of their ongoing commitment to becoming a net zero trust by 2040.

The cars (two manufactured by Skoda and one manufactured by Kia) have successfully gone through the conversion process to ensure they contain all the equipment, medication and supplies to allow their solo responder paramedics to reach patients quickly under emergency driving conditions – generating zero emissions in the process.

Andy Watson, Head of Operational Support said: "We received the first of these three fully electric, zero emissions vehicles last week, which was instantly put into active service to help us respond to our patients in the community.

"We look forward to welcoming the additional two vehicles to our fleet in the coming weeks.

"We are always looking to improve the quality of our vehicles for our staff by constantly listening to valuable feedback.

"As part of this, we invited colleagues to review the three design prototype models, getting them to share their honest feedback before we proceeded with the conversion of the vehicles.

"Safety, comfort and practicality are our main priorities for our staff who will be using these vehicles to respond to patients."

Instead of relying on traditional fuel to remain operational, paramedics will be able to re-charge their solo response cars at numerous charging points across the region.

All three vehicles will have a sat-nav fitted as standard, which can be used to alert the driver to the nearest available charging station when required.

Steve Farnworth, Assistant Director of Operational Support said: "These vehicles have an excellent range as the cars are capable of up to 256 miles when they are fully charged.

"Our solo response cars complete around 39 miles per day on average, meaning one charge should last a full 12-hour shift without the need to charge again.

"This means these life-saving vehicles can spend more time on the road to be able to respond to patients who need us in an emergency."

The introduction of these electric vehicles enforces EMAS's ongoing commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Cara Turton-Chambers, Sustainability Manager at EMAS said: "The climate emergency is also a health emergency, with a changing climate increasing the demand for the services provided by EMAS and the wider NHS.

"Therefore, we welcome these zero emission cars as we recognise their importance in reducing the negative health impacts caused by air pollution and helping us reach net zero.

"It's great to see that our EV A&E fleet is expanding, as it shows a positive step in the right direction towards us recognising and utilising this innovative technology, allowing us to be at the forefront to deliver sustainable care.

"We have recently formalised our Net Zero Steering Group at EMAS, which has executive representation from each trust directorate to ensure strategic leadership and commitment to meet our net zero goals."