Many NHS ambulance trusts in England bought adapted Fiat Ducatos diesel vans which are safe and fuel efficient, to replace their older Mercedes vehicles.
But Freedom of Information requests and a whistleblower claim paramedics with size 12 or bigger feet cannot use the Fiats as their special reinforced toe-capped boots are too big to switch easily between pedals.
Paramedics say the Fiats also have less room for paramedics to stand by a patient’s side, which can create worse outcomes if that person is suffering cardiac arrest.
Last night, Mark Tilley, deputy chairman of the GMB union’s national ambulance committee, said: “Paramedics should not need to worry if their feet are too big or their legs are too short.”
Now at least one of the five trusts affected has decided to stop using the vehicles completely. In other trusts, paramedics unable to drive the Fiats are stuck with only using the old Mercedes ambulances.
Five years ago the Lord Carter Review recommended standardising ambulance specifications to make them cheaper and more fuel-efficient.
Trusts have been under pressure from ‘Greener NHS’ targets to reduce emissions, with ambulances seen as a big polluter.
The Fiats comply with UK safety regulations and there is no suggestion they are actually unsafe on the road.
But one paramedic said they are “detrimental to me doing my best for my patients”, and added: “They can’t go safely from the brake to the accelerator.
“We’ve got people who are quite big and tall, who have size 14 feet. When they try to drive, they can’t move their foot from one pedal to the other because of their boots.”
Following concerns raised over the Fiats, last month NHS England expanded the types of ambulances trusts can buy.
Last month, South East Coast Ambulance quietly vowed to replace all the Fiats in its fleet following staff concerns. Sources said as many as one in five drivers can’t use the Fiats.
Minutes of its board meeting said: “We will replace the manual Fiat Ducato DCAs and decide a new ambulance design to continue our fleet replacement.”
East of England Ambulance Trust said 35 of the 145 staff who underwent “ergonomic assessment” were found not to be able to drive the ambulances.
South Central Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust said staff found unable to use the Fiats are stuck driving the old Mercedes ambulances.
While North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust said just one per cent of its staff were unable to drive the vehicles.
A Fiat spokesman said: “If any of the English ambulance authorities have specific questions about their respective vehicles, we are keen to investigate with them.”
While an NHS spokesman said: “The safety of NHS staff and patients is our priority and ambulance trusts have established processes in place for staff to raise any concerns.”
“All ambulance trusts have been fully involved in the recent tendering exercise and will make their own decisions on their fleet based on their specific needs, in line with the national vehicle specification.”
