Ambulances sustained 400 crashes or prangs in last four years

The National Ambulance Service said each patient-carrying vehicle is examined every eight weeks. File picture

Ambulances were involved in crashes or prangs more than 400 times over the past four years.

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) said there were also 19 occasions last year where one of their vehicles broke down due to a puncture, mechanical failure, or warning lights which needed immediate investigation.

In the first half of this year, ambulances were in 69 collisions while the full-year figure for 2022 was 114, according to figures provided under FOI. There were a further 117 crashes or mishaps involving emergency vehicles in 2021 and a total of 113 in the year prior to that.

The National Ambulance Service said that the number of incidents of vehicle damage is very low and that many were minor incidents.

The service said: “Approximately 40% of all vehicle damage arises from reversing incidents, i.e. narrow gates or overhanging obstacles during poor visibility in emergency situations.” 

The NAS said that the 114 incidents of damage in 2022 came during 390,000 separate emergency calls, which was a miniscule proportion of the overall call-outs.

They also said there were only 19 occasions where ambulances had to be taken off the road last year due to technical issues or mechanical faults.

“No patient safety, staff safety or other road user issues emerged as a consequence of any vehicle incident in 2022,” an information note said.

The NAS said that because ambulances had to work at “design extremes” a robust inspection schedule is in place with each patient-carrying vehicle examined every eight weeks.

It added: “Every day, the NAS deploys approximately 160 to 180 emergency ambulances, an average of 22 rapid response vehicles and in excess of 50 officer response vehicles operating from over 100 locations around the country.” 

It said it does not hold any detail on how much has been paid in compensation and legal fees for claims from staff or members of the public arising from accidents involving ambulances.

An information note said: “[These claims are] managed by the State Claims Agency on behalf of the HSE. The NAS does not hold this information.”