AMBULANCE chiefs are hiring driving instructors to cut the number of crashes – after estimating that smashes involving their vehicles are costing them up to £400,000 a year.
East Midlands Ambulance Service said it was looking to recruit four instructors to help staff train new 999 drivers – and to assess those already out on the roads.
The move comes after managers at the trust estimated that accidents involving their ambulances and cars were costing them between £300,000 and £400,000 a year. They said they also wanted to reduce the amount of times vehicles were being taken off the road for repairs after a collision.
Nicky Fothergill, in charge of driving at EMAS, said: "Our staff are often driving in high-risk situations and accidents are not always their fault. When people see blue lights and hear a siren, they can react unpredictably and in ways our staff can't always anticipate.
"There are things we can do to help and one is spotting any problems which could lead to something – like making sure drivers are reversing properly – before they happen.
"And these driving instructors will be able to help us do that because, while we have people doing this at the moment, some are operational paramedics and others are tutors – both of whom have other responsibilities too."
Between April 2013 and March this year, there were 404 incidents involving ambulance vehicles which EMAS reported to its insurers.
There were 462 incidents in the previous 12 months and, so far this financial year up to May, there have been 65. These include instances where ambulance vehicles have clipped mirrors, hit parked cars or reserved incorrectly.
Ms Fothergill, clinical education manager and driving lead for EMAS, said: "Over the last year, we can see that the number of incidents has decreased but some types of incidents have actually gone up.
"The number of times where vehicles have hit stationary objects has increased, as has the number of incidents where the vehicle was reserving.
"But the amount of times vehicles are clipping mirrors and hitting third-party vehicles has gone down, while incidents where the handbrake has not been applied correctly are about the same." Ms Fothergill said she hoped to see the instructors, called clinical practice tutors for driving, visiting different stations to offer their support.
She said other measures they were looking to introduce included regular refresher training for workers.
But she said they already sent out regular bulletins to staff about driving and issues to be aware of, such as speeding.
