10-05-2012

A private ambulance fleet which services some of Britain’s leading sports events has chosen ATS Euromaster to maintain its fleet of blue-light vehicles.

MediForce Ltd operates a 30-strong fleet of independent ambulances made up of both Mercedes Benz Sprinters and Renault Master vans, as well as Land Rover Freelanders and Volvo XC70s which form the rapid response arm of the emergency service.

The MediForce fleet are particularly prominent at racecourses across the UK, with Cheltenham, Epsom Downs, Huntingdon, Kempton Park and Sandown Park, some of the biggest customers. The NHS ambulance service does not always have the capacity to meet the demands of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), which requires an ambulance presence at every meet. The strict criteria applied by the BHA ensures that any downtime MediForce vehicles suffer on-site will incur severe financial penalties, and for this reason the independent ambulance required a maintenance team they could trust to keep their fleet running at all times. ATS Euromaster provides a rapid response service which can repair or replace tyres at a moment’s notice.

Aside from their contracts with racecourses, MediForce can also be drafted in to help the NHS whenever their capacity becomes stretched. With the London Olympics looming on the horizon it is anticipated that the private ambulance service will have a busy summer, providing emergency healthcare either at the games themselves, or to fill in for the shortfall in rapid response vehicles in local communities due to the heavy NHS presence at the games.

David Hibbert, operations director at MediForce, explained the decision to work with ATS Euromaster: “Punctures are a part of life for any fleet, but in our line of work any delays can have serious consequences.

“We needed a maintenance provider who could match the urgency of our work, providing timely solutions to any location in the UK.”

The decision to employ a contractor was taken following a study carried out by MediForce Ltd, which showed that the time taken to repair or replace damaged tyres was the principal reason for vehicle downtime.

For fleet van insurance customers across the country, this shows just how important it is to have a fully mobile fleet at all times, as vehicle downtime can impact heavily on running costs and efficiencies alike.