EU rules pose a major headache for regional ambulance chiefs

EU procurement rules could cause major headaches to the region's ambulance services and potentially impact on the quality of service provided by NHS trusts, local Conservative MEP Martin Callanan warned today.

Mr Callanan has echoed concerns voiced by the North East Ambulance Trust over EU legislation that requires the NHS to consider strict environmental criteria when purchasing ambulances - even though other emergency vehicles like fire engines and police cars are exempt.

The legislation relates to public procurement and is intended to encourage public sector bodies to buy only vehicles meeting tough environmental standards.

However, Mr Callanan said that the legislation was flawed on a number of fronts and has tabled a parliamentary question to the European Commission asking for ambulances to be made exempt.

The MEP agrees with the UK ambulance sector that there has been no satisfactory explanation as to why ambulances should be included in the public procurement directive while other emergency and military vehicles are exempt.

Furthermore, he said it made no sense to use the example of ambulances to prompt a major cultural shift in public procurement because they are highly specialised vehicles and only 400 or so are bought in any one year.

Mr Callanan said:
"There seems to me to be no good reason why ambulances are not exempted from this legislation.

"Ambulances are the only type of emergency vehicle to be included in the scope of this legislation, which is both unfair and hard to understand.

"It seems bizarre for the EU to have chosen ambulances to set an example for all other kinds of vehicles procured by central and local government.

"Ambulances are highly specialised and the number of them bought every year is a drop in the ocean compared to other types of vehicles procured by the public sector.

"I've written to the Commission asking for this anomaly to be rectified so that our region's ambulance services can continue their brilliant job free of this unnecessary EU red tape."