Five-ton ambulances answer 999 calls by supersized patients

Britain's obesity epidemic is forcing the NHS to introduce specially adapted ambulances for overweight patients.

Nearly a quarter of hospitals have brought in vehicles which have strengthened stretchers, hoists and suspension, new figures show. More than a third of those surveyed said they were planning to introduce the ambulances, so they could cope with call-outs from the obese.

The NHS spends an estimated £7bn every year on obesity- or bariatric-related disorders. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI) goes over 30. Nearly a quarter of British adults are now overweight, which has created huge problems for ambulance crews.

In Suffolk, for example, St John Ambulance brought in vehicles with wider ramps and a strengthened floor after a call-out to a patient weighing nearly 65 stone. It took more than 30 people, as well as members of the Fire Brigade, to get him to hospital.

Keith Hotchkiss, St John's transport co-ordinator, said the bariatric ambulances, which cost up to £90,000 each, were vital because they relieved the burden on other emergency vehicles responding to 999 calls.

"My job is to question the caller on things such as location, weight and height, and that gives us an idea of the number of people we need to send out," he said.

Normal ambulances can only carry patients who weigh up to 20 stone, compared with up to five tons in bariatric vehicles. This meant that obese people often had to be carried in the back of vans until the introduction of bariatric ambulances.

South Western Ambulance Trust already has six vehicles and plans to introduce 23 more. "In the past, the Fire Brigade have to help us lift obese patients," said Lynne Paramor.

How Britain's obesity problem tips the scales

BIGGER COFFINS: Funeral directors are being obliged to order larger-sized coffins from the United States to take expanding Britons on their final journey.

LARGER FURNACES: Cematoriums are installing new furnaces to cater for coffins up to 44in wide.

FAIRGROUND RIDES: Designers are installing larger seats and altering the normal way of strapping passengers in by their shoulders. Instead, they are fastened in around the waist. G Force, in Tamworth, has a larger seat at the rear of each six-seater train.

NEW AMBULANCE TROLLEYS: Wider and reinforced to cope with extra weight. They also feature clamps that fix to the ambulance floor.

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