Mobile HQ for ambulance service
The ambulance service has unveiled a new vehicle for the most serious incidents.
West Midlands Ambulance showed the £440,000 Ambulance Service Command Unit vehicle for the first time at the Emergency Services Show.
The 'mobile mini headquarters' will be sent to emergencies including plane, railway or multi-vehicle motorway crashes, or something more extended like flooding.
It will be used as a base for the ambulance service's commanders.
Anthony Marsh, chief executive of WMAS, said: "It is really important that we have the very best equipment to keep our staff safe and enable them to provide the best care, the best treatment and the best service for our patients should the worst happen anywhere in the West Midlands."
The vehicle, based on a 7.5 tonne Isuzu chassis, has custom slide-out pods, briefing room with seating for up to nine people, laptop positions and video and phone conferencing. Screens will show live pictures from CCTV cameras and body cameras worn by hazardous area response team paramedics.
On the outside of the vehicle, there is a large screen for briefings. There is also a live satellite link to the main HQ and weather monitoring information, important for a chemical incident.
