Doctors can use green flashing lights (and sometimes blue) on their vehicles to attend emergencies.
YT71 HLD
NHS Harrogate and District
Kia Sportage
GP out of Hours Service car. Note the signage is magnetic so it can be easily removed. Sometimes doctor’s cars are the target for thefts of medicines.
SH69 BKL
NHS Highland
Skoda Kodiaq
MD68 OEL
Medvivo
Skoda Octavia
This Skoda estate is a doctors out-of-hours car operated by Medvivo at their Keynsham Urgent Care Centre covering the Bath & Northeast Somerset area
S19 KJM
LIVES
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
OV17 VZE
LIVES
Land Rover Range Rover Discovery
WN69 PKZ
BrisDoc
Honda CRV
This car is one of four replacements for the Out of Hours Doctors cars for BrisDoc in Bristol. Four more cars are due to come into service in early 2020. Due to the change in contract in providing Out Of hours provision, SevernSide integrated Urgent Care Service was formed and gone into
partnership with the 111 service. This model of care is the new standard of Urgent Care within the NHS 999/111 service and will become operational across the UK in the coming year allowing Doctors, Nurses & Paramedics to attend home visits.
The Cars still have green lights to allow a clinician to attend urgent medical care when required. Also there are alley lights on the bar light to aid the clinician and driver to find house numbers at night.
YJ16 XZM
Yorkshire Doctors Urgent Care
Ford Kuga
BASICS North West
Land Rover Range Rover Sport
Ambulance Doctor car
LS60 BXA
Doctorcall
Smart Fortwo
PJ04 CVN
Land Rover Defender
This vehicles has green flashing lights fitted for a doctor’s vehicle as well as lifeboat crew stickers showing
HG57 PTU
Jura Medical Practice
Land Rover Defender
Used for urgent out of hours care on the remote Scottish island of Jura
LR08 BFZ
BASICS
Seat Altea
Also carrying the badge of the Sandpiper Trust
NJ16 SUA
Yorkshire Doctors Urgent Care
Skoda Octavia
WV14 AVY
BrisDoc
Skoda Octavia
NL64 GXE
Yorkshire Doctors Urgent Care
Skoda Octavia
WU64 JVC, WN13 BVG BrisDoc Skoda and Kia used by BrisDoc out of hours doctors service based in Bristol
SH04 CMO Volvo XC90 doctor’s car
GF12 BYJ Barts Health NHS Trust Mercedes Benz A160 Doctor / Ambulance car
WN64 XTF Devon Doctors Honda CR-V
TOCA Porsche Cayenne used for on-track support at British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) races around England and Scotland
This silver Bentley Continental is being used as a doctor car at a motorsport event. It carries a suction-mounted blue light bar on the roof. The car can quickly be converted back to normal and sold by Bentley who were supporting the event.
YK10 AEL A Honda CRV that is used by out of hours doctors for routine and emergency work. It has green flashing lights fitted.
The rear view.
A close up look at the wording on the side.
NJ13 OSO A Subaru WRX doctor car. It is the 2.5 litre turbocharged model that provides 300 bhp, 300 lb ft of torque and a 0-62 mph time of 5.2 seconds.
Another look at the car showing the green and blue flashing lights. It is used in the NHS Grampian area.
Here is a shot of the car out and about. It is based at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
WU60 ZFG A Skoda Yeti operated by Out Of Hours GP Care for B&NES. This vehicle is based at the Royal United Hospital, Bath.
The rear view of the Yeti.
X999 PML A Land Rover Discovery 4 SDV6 GS in black that is used by MARS (Mercia Accident Rescue Service). It carries a personalised plate of 999 and the company’s initials.
The side view of the Land Rover showing the MARS logo and supported by Prometheus Medical Ltd.
The rear view of the Land Rover that covers Hertfordshire and Worcestershire.
LR06 ZHY This mint green Nissan Micra is used by a private doctor service in London.
The rear view of the Micra showing the company advertising.
This red Massey-Ferguson 240 is used as an emergency doctor vehicle on the small Channel Island of Sark. Notice the ‘doctor’ sign on the sun visor and the LED flashing lights on the windscreen.
The rear view. The rear plate reads ‘doctor’ as it is normal to have the owner’s name shown in place of any official registration plate system on the island. The red box is the patient transportation system! It consists of one seat and a storage box. It is lifted off the ground when the tractor is in motion. The cab only has one seat so this bespoke box is essential to transport patients.
Here is the vehicle in use on a misty day showing the red and blue flashing lights.
RO11 YJG This Porsche Cayenne is the vehicle used to support the British Touring Car Championship for 2011. It is an updated model from the previous year and is supplied by Porsche for the events. It carries its true registration plates when on the public road.
Prior to setting out for the day, the paramedic alters the flash patterns on the light bar by touching the centre with a magnetic aerial.
YK10 AEO and YK10 AJO are a pair of Honda CRVs used for emergency doctor work. They carry a simple yellow stripe down the side and green flashing lights on the roof and front grille.
A closer look at AJO.
A closer look at AEO.
The rear view, showing the wording that is the only clue to the vehicles’ use.
BV09 FYN This is a Ford Mondeo estate that is used by Serco to provide out-of-hours emergency doctors to the NHS in Cornwall.
The rear view, showing the high visibility markings.
RK10 YHU Doctors and other medics at Silverstone race circuit use this temporarily marked-up Honda Accord as a medical car. The magnetic signs and blue lights can easily be removed.
The rear view of the Accord.
This Mercedes Benz C63 AMG estate is used in Formula One races around the world as the medical car. It is driven by driven by Dr Jacques Tropenat and also carries FIA’s chief medical delegate, Dr Gary Hartstein and medical equipment. The 6.3-litre V8 car has been described as the fastest ambulance on the planet and Mercedes have improved it over the road-going version. It is seen here on a demonstration run with two photographers hanging out of it.
This golf kart has been adapted to be used by doctors supporting the British Touring Car Championship races around the UK. It has a BTCC badge on the front and a green strobing beacon on the roof. It is only used to drive around the paddock, not on public roads, and therefore in unregistered, carrying “doctor” signs in place of registration plates.
The rear view of this unusual electric four-seater left-hand drive kart.
This Porsche Cayenne Turbo is used as an emergency medical support vehicle for the British Touring Cars Championship. It is seen following the cars on the first lap when the chance of accidents is greatest. It also caries out this role in all of the support races.
The rear view. A doctor, a surgeon and a paramedic are driven by an experienced racing driver. In previous years, this car was fitted with green flashing lights, but since 2009 has had blue lights fitted for use on-track.
NL09 DTF This silver Skoda Fabia is used by the Northern Doctors Urgent Care service. It is used to provide out of hours GP coverage in the North East of England.
The rear view, showing the full-width green light bar.
FY58 WWR This is a minimally liveried Nissan X-trail that is used by BASICS doctors and nurses.
BJ07 MVS This is a Subaru Forester that is used by Hampshire BASICS doctors. It is carrying “Trauma Team” wording on the bonnet and is fitted with a half-width light bar.
AY55 WCK This is an emergency doctor’s car supplied by Ipswich Toyota. It is a silver Toyota RAV4. Notice the small piece of green and yellow striping added to the front wings and the racy bonnet air scoop.
RJ58 KTL This is a red Honda Civic that is used as a doctor car in support of the Tour of Britain cycle race. The sign on the windscreen says ‘race doctor’. It is fitted with a magnetically mounted green rotating beacon on the roof and various race sponsors down the sides.
The rear view of the Civic.
WU55 NDX This photograph shows a Renault Megane estate decked out in doctors colours. The bonnet has had a large yellow graphic added to increase the cars conspicuity and a green light bar has been fitted to the roof rails.
YK57 CYX is a Honda CR-V that is used by Hull PCT out-of-hours doctor service.
In this photograph we can see a London HEMS doctor riding a St. John Ambulance cycle as part of a demonstration.
EA08 TLZ This Skoda Octavia vrs is a 2008 addition to London HEMS’s fleet. It is the first vehicle to carry prominent advertising for sponsor Saints Transport. It is fitted with a blue/green roof light bar, dashboard flasher unit and leds behind the grille.
The rear view of the Skoda. “Not in use” signs can be seen as the vehicle awaits being made operational.
ET06 VGE A London HEMS doctor and paramedic return to their car in Hyde Park after a training session.
FH55 OWJ is a VW Sharan TDI which is also operated by BrisDoc which operates within the South of Bristol.
The rear view of the VW Sharan MPV.
WV54 TUJ is a Peugeot 307 HDI estate operated by BrisDoc (Bristol doctors on call) out of hours service. It is decked out with ambulance-style green and yellow battenburg markings and a yellow bonnet. A full-width green light bar is also attached to the roof rails.
The rear view of the same car.
L700 SPS An overhead view of one of the HEMS Skoda Octavia’s. Notice the ‘H05’ roof markings, enabling the vehicle to be easily identified from above.
ET06 VGE is a Skoda Octavia VRS that is used by the HEMS doctors in London. It is used in addition to the air ambulance to get highly trained doctors to serious medical incidents in the capital. The vehicle is sponsored by D&G cars.
The rear view of the Octavia. You can see the NHS logo, London Ambulance Service logo as well as subtle adverts for the sponsoring company.
L700 SPS This is another Skoda Octavia VRS that is sponsored by SP Services. The car has the sponsors logo on all sides and also carries the personalised registration plate ‘SPS’. If you look closely at the grille, you can see cut-outs for the repeating flashing lights.
M4 UGR This Volvo V70 is used as a doctor’s emergency car. It carries full-height ambulance battenburg markings on the sides and is fitted with small blue flashing lights around the bodywork. It also can be fitted with a full width green and blue light bar onto the roof rails. It is used by a BASICS doctor in Suffolk.
This is a VW Passat estate used by the Thamesdoc service.
CN04 XZT is a Peugeot 307 emergency doctor’s car. It has a simple green and white chequered band down the sides and over the bonnet. A green flashing light is attached to the roof rails and can have the ‘doctor’ sign separately illuminated.
NK06 DHD This Mercedes Benz Vito van is decked out in ambulance-style battenburg markings. It has a clear light bar that flashes green, along with the repeaters in the front grille and wings. It has no writing on it expect for an ‘NHS’ logo. The central part of the vehicle has three seats for transporting people.
Here is one of four Audi A4s that are used for emergency medical support at Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire. They all carry green flashing lights on the roof and a large Audi sign on the side from their sponsors.
YK55 AEL This Honda CRV is an NHS emergency doctors’ car. It is an ex-TENYAS rapid response vehicle. After the collapse of North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors, TENYAS took over the service. The TENYAS wording was removed from the rearmost side windows and the blue lights changed to green.
The rear view of the CRV. Notice that the roof light bar contains red lights to the rear that can be used when the vehicle is stationary.
NH05 TPF is a green Ford Focus doctors car. ‘Doctor On Call’ is written along the back, the sides have green and white checker markings and the front has ‘Gateshead Doctors On Call’ written in mirror. The roof has a mag-mount green flashing light. [inset: front view]
Y497 TJW is an ex-HEMS (London) Subaru that is now used by BASICS Hampshire in Basingstoke. It has call sign ‘IMCARE 0200’ and operates largely up and down the M3.
EX54 XVL is a Subaru Impreza used by HEMS doctors in London when they are not in their helicopter. It is a slight departure from their previous vehicles as the bodywork is bright blue rather than dark blue (see below). It still has the blue and green flashing lights and distinctive livery.
The side view of the same Impreza. The doctors and paramedics that are part of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service are easily recognised by their orange jumpsuits. The website shown along the door sills is for a medical supplies company that sponsor them.
T669 HPX This is a Honda BASICS emergency doctor’s motorbike. It operates out of Portsmouth and is an ex-Hampshire police bike. It is very rare to see a motorbike fitted with green flashing lights. This will be short-lived however, as it is due to re-fitted with blue lights in early 2005.
The same motorbike now fitted with blue lights. This medical response motorcycle was extensively used for Medical Incident Officer duties during the 2005 Portsmouth International Fleet Review and International Festival of the Sea. It’s role is displayed on a large placard on the front.
VN52 FFS This is a Subaru Impreza ambulance / doctor car. It is used by London’s Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) team to get to emergency calls when the helicopter is unavailable. The 4WD turbo-charged Impreza has lightening-quick acceleration and superb handling, but these qualities will be rarely used on the capital’s congested roads.
The rear view, showing the high visibility markings and the roof-mounted green and blue flashing lights, very rare in the UK. They can be used because a doctor and a paramedic will be in the vehicle.
EU53 MXW This is another of the HEMS road-going vehicles. It is a Subaru Forrester, in blue, with the same markings and light bar as the Impreza above. Notice the image of the aircraft on the bonnet of all the cars.
The rear shot.
BG52 ZFL This is a third HEMS Subaru car. This time it is a Subaru Legacy in the same livery.
The rear view of the Legacy. The HEMS cars are unsurprisingly sponsored by Subaru.
This beautiful blue Subaru Impreza Turbo leads a secret life: green lights behind the grille indicate that it is used by an emergency doctor. The private registration (partly disguised) also hints at its emergency use, by having ‘999’ as the numerical element.
KC02 WXU This BASICS doctor Audi estate has green/yellow battenburg livery and unusually is fitted with blue flashing lights. Notice how the roof lights and grille lights are fitted without drilling, to help maintain the sell-on value of the car.
The rear of the car, this time with the doors closed. It is sponsored by Medi-Logistics.
A Peugeot 406 Emergency Doctor’s Car with simple green and white checker striping.
T767 AUA is a Volkswagen Passat estate used by North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors.
The rear view of the same car
R644 DCX is a Vauxhall Vectra emergency doctor’s car. Notice the additional front fog lamps.
The rear view of the Vectra.
A close-up of the bar of green lights on an emergency doctor’s car’s roof.
R189 EAD is a rare sight, a black emergency vehicle. This Dihatsu Fourtrak may have been donated to the emergency doctors or could be the doctor’s private car adapted to carry the green lights and livery. It’s callsign is M14 and was spotted in York.
V192 PAG A Land Rover Freelander with call sign M14. This photograph was taken when the vehicle was brand new and was to be used for the first time later the same day! It is not fitted with a siren, just the green lights.
PN52 HKV A Skoda Octavia 20V turbo emergency doctor’s car. This car is operated by Med Alert, a Lancashire emergency response team charity, affiliated to BASICS.
The rear view of the Skoda. Notice the illuminated ‘accident’ sign on the roof lights and the Skoda dealer’s sticker stating “Oh no, another great Skoda…”!
YY03 UMW is a North Yorkshire Emergency Doctor’s Peugeot 307 HDi estate.
The rear three-quarter view of the same car.
Y946 LJX is an imposing emergency doctor’s car from North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors.
A Hampshire BASICS (The British Association for Immediate Care) doctor with a Volvo V40 Police Specification T4. As well as the standard mobile phone and VHF communications equipment, this vehicle is fitted with satellite navigation and a global positioning system for vehicle location, so ambulance control can ‘see’ where it is. It’s call sign is IMCARE 0221.
The same vehicle with some of the equipment carried. BASICS doctors are trained to drive on blue (or green) lights to attend emergencies where a doctor’s skill, experience and prescriptive authority is required.
YK02 DYB Here we have a 2002 Land Rover Freelander that is used by the North Yorks emergency doctors.
This diesel powered model provides sufficient performance for this vehicle to still be quick. It is also ideal for carrying a large amount of equipment.
YB02 JUV This VW Passat was bought by North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors in June 2002. It replaces the previous “M01” vehicle which was a 1999 version of the Passat. It is not fitted with a siren but the green flashing light can aid a doctor’s progress to a casualty. The green lights are used about five times per week to attend emergencies.
YF02 FWX The sister vehicle “M06”. This identical Passat carries a defibrillator, nebuliser, oxygen, drugs (some that can only be administered by a doctor) and other first aid equipment.
Y368 OLF and Y436 OFL are two Mercedes A-Class doctor’s cars. These vehicles are liveried up and may be operated with a green flashing beacon on the roof.
A Y-registration Subaru Impreza from the Hampshire Technical Rescue Unit Doctors. The Impreza underwent a facelift in 2001, with the most noticeable changes being the headlight clusters and the grille reshaping. It is still one of the most affordable agile and fast accelerating production cars available.