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.
WV04 ZPJ This Fiat Stilo is an ambulance car. The side-by-side photos show it in the daytime and night-time. The car is used by members of the national charity First Response in the North East Ambulance Service area.
YP02 GEK is a Vauxhall Astra ambulance car that is used for rapid response work by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
This Suzuki Vitara is used by Ise Valley Ambulance Service in the Northamptonshire area. Notice the yellow front grille and amber centre to the roof light bar.
PVS 240R This is a Range Rover ambulance conversion that was new in 1976. It was still being used as a front line vehicle in 2006 as part of the (non-NHS) South Coast Ambulance Service, England.
DX54 OYT is a Honda CR-V that is a clinical support ambulance car attached in Shropshire. The blizzard conditions are no match for this two-wheel drive car with off-road ground clearance.
In this action scene you can see the police escorting an ambulance on a blue light run. Both services are training to transport a high risk prisoner to and from hospital. The police Volvos stay very close to the front and rear of the ambulance. A third police car rides way up ahead and creates a route through traffic and keeps junctions clear. A fourth police car (an unmarked Land Rover Discovery) is out of shot at the rear of the convoy. This could be used to force any bandit vehicles out of the way.
HX55 LJZ This yellow Iveco Daily ambulance service incident support vehicle is used by Hampshire Ambulance. Notice that it does not have a blue light bar, just a series of blue flashing leds on the bodywork.
HX55 MYA Hampshire also operate this 3.5-litre diesel LDV Maxus as a smaller incident support vehicle. Notice the very small blue flashing lights mounted into the front grille.
J479 TOA Still in service in 2007, this J-reg (1992) Leyland DAF is used by Hampshire as a mobile control unit at major incidents. The illuminating green and white checkers on the light bar indicate its control status. You can see that there is a ladder mounted on the side which allows staff to raise the roof-mounted communications equipment.
HX05 BCU This silver Volvo V50 is used by Hampshire Ambulance Service to respond quickly to emergencies. It can get to a job faster than a traditional ambulance and begin to treat the patient while the ambulance is still making towards the scene.
EY53 GNP This Volvo XC90 is used by St. John in London for Pediatric Retrieval Services. Notice the yellow bonnet that helps to increase the conspicuousness of the car.
The rear view of the XC90.
SY54 LRX and SY05 YUX are British Red Cross Nissan D22 4×4 pick-ups. The unusual vehicles have a large box on the rear portion to carry equipment. They are liveried as Emergency Response Units and are fitted with snorkels to drive through deep water.
WA06 ULJ This Nissan Patrol has had its roof heightened as part of its conversion to an ambulance. This makes more height inside and also allows the blue lights to be integrated into the bodywork. It is run by the British Red Cross.
DU54 TFO This silver Nissan Navara is a Staffordshire Ambulance Community First Responder Vehicle.
The rear view of the Navara. Interestingly they have opted for red and white checkers on the back rather than the traditional diagonal red and yellow chevrons.
Y348 GUD is a Volvo V40 that is used by Severn Ambulance and Medical Services.
This green Citroen C5 is a private ambulance decked out in green and white checkers.
G590 XJV is a Mercedes 310 diesel ambulance from 1989. This vehicle is used by Conocophillips and Total at the Humber Oil refinery. It is used to provide medical assistance at the massive oil processing site.
The rear view of the Mercedes.
XTL 845S is an immaculate Ford Transit mark 1 ambulance dating from 1977 which was still in use nearly thirty years later when photographed in 2006. Just like the Mercedes above it is fully operational with blue lights and sirens an is used at the Humber Oil refinery.
The rear view of the Ford Transit. It was sold in 2008 and is now in preservation. By the end of 2008 it had covered just 14,000 miles from new.
HX56 AUC This Renault Master ambulance is used by BMI Healthcare at Mount Alvernia Hospital.
120 MMN and D8 LRO are two Land Rovers that are used by an organisation called ‘Extreme Medics’. They provide medical cover to events in remote areas
Towed by the Land Rovers to the events are two custom built 7.5 metre trailers. They are self-contained mobile casualty units for treatment of injuries at the event site.
Here is the red Land Rover 110 in the terrain it was built for: snowy and icy gradients. Notice that the vehicles have clear blue light bars fitted on the all-terrain ambulances.
C8 LRN is another Land Rover 90 from Extreme Medic’s fleet. It is used as a rapid response unit.
120 MMN A closer look at the grey Land Rover 90 against the backdrop of a wintry sun over a lake.
130 MMN is a blue Land Rover Discovery 3 that is also used by Extreme Medics.
This all-terrain quad bike is used by Extreme Medics as a fast response unit. It is fitted with a blue flashing light and carries some essential medical equipment.
S909 VBC This red Land Rover Discovery is used by NESST Rescue, a Scout-run ambulance organisation.
This Range Rover ambulance is being used for medical support at an off-road motorbike event. It is owned by Emergency Medical Ambulance Service UK.