North East Ambulance Service to introduce white emergency ambulances

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) will begin introducing white emergency ambulances into its fleet as part of plans to improve vehicle availability, strengthen operational resilience and reduce costs.

The decision follows a review of safety standards, national regulations and procurement processes. By switching to white, a standard factory colour, the Trust can take delivery of new ambulances around two months sooner than under its previous arrangements.

NEAS serves a population of 2.7 million people, from Berwick to North Yorkshire. Its 600-strong fleet includes 200 emergency ambulances. Each year, the service answers more than 1.4 million 999 and 111 calls, attends over 400,000 incidents and carries out 463,000 planned patient transport journeys.

White vehicles are already used within NEAS’ Patient Transport Service. Extending their use to emergency ambulances will allow the Trust to replace ageing vehicles more quickly and ease pressure on budgets.

The move is expected to save around £1,000 per ambulance. With 75 vehicles currently on order, this equates to a saving of approximately £75,000 this financial year. Yellow vehicles require specialist paint and longer production time, increasing both cost and delivery times.

“Most importantly, this change does not affect safety. White ambulances meet the exact same national safety standards as yellow ones, and there is no evidence that either colour is more or less visible or more likely to be involved in an accident.

“What patients and staff will continue to see is the same high‑quality, fully equipped emergency ambulance service – just in a different colour. Our priority remains making sure we can reach people as quickly and safely as possible.”

Stephen Segasby, Chief Operating Officer, North East Ambulance Service.

All mandatory reflective markings required under the national ambulance specification will remain in place. The reflective materials used by NEAS, in line with other ambulance trusts, comply with CEN 1789:2020 regulations.

Emergency lighting systems are unchanged, although converters now offer a night mode that slightly dims lights to reduce the risk of dazzling other road users.

CEN 1789:2020 regulations allow ambulances to be produced in red, white or yellow. NEAS expects 66 white emergency ambulances to be operational across the region from March this year.

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