White emergency ambulances rolled out to cut costs
NEASWhite emergency ambulances are being rolled out across north-east England to save money.
North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) said switching to white paint would save about £1,000 per vehicle due it being a standard factory colour, whereas yellow ones needed specialist painting.
NEAS said it had ordered 75 white ambulances, with 66 of them expected to be on the road in the coming year, and aimed to make its entire fleet all-white eventually.
Chief operating officer at NEAS Stephen Segasby said the move would "not affect safety", adding "there is no evidence that either colour is more or less visible or more likely to be involved in an accident".
It was revealed in January that NEAS was the only service in England to meet the level required for responding to the most urgent calls, according to NHS figures.
It said it already used white vehicles as part of its Patient Transport Service, which takes patients into hospitals and home again.
Replacing ageing ambulances
NEAS said the roll-out, which begins from March, would also mean that the vehicles would go into service more quickly than if they were yellow.
All of the markings mandated by the national ambulance specification would still be on the vehicle, which are what makes it reflective to lights in poor conditions and darkness.
Segasby said switching to white meant NEAS could "replace ageing vehicles faster" and it made "better use of public money".
He said: "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."
