The introduction of the new vehicles comes as the trust's spend on private ambulances has risen more than 40 per cent
Up to 40 new ambulances are set to take to the region’s roads over the next three years following significant investment to help reduce the reliance on private services .
The region’s ambulance service has been strained in recent months where handover delays across the region’s emergency departments has impacted how effectively the service can do its job. East Midlands Ambulance Service , like other health services, is particularly stretched over winter periods.
In January 2026, it lost more than 19,500 hours in its pre-handover window – the period when an ambulance arrives outside A&E to when they hand the patient over to A&E staff – but this dropped to just below 10,300 in March. The stretched public sector can end up relying on private services to help keep their processes flowing and to deal with any increases in service demand.
For ambulance trusts, they can make use of private ambulance services, which provide their own resources, paramedics, technicians and equipment – but they come at millions of pounds worth of costs. In February, EMAS was using 56 private ambulance service crews each day on average and that heavy reliance appears to be continuing, with figures from EMAS’ board meeting on May 5 showing the trust was still using an average of 55 a day to “mitigate handover delays” and pressures.
But board papers say moves have been made to begin reducing the reliance on private crews, where the region’s integrated care boards will be giving EMAS extra money to expand its service by 2028/29. The ambulance trust could not provide the Local Democracy Reporting Service with the exact financial figure, but said it was investing the money to provide 40 extra double-crewed ambulances over the next three financial years.
EMAS says this will be a ‘phased’ introduction over the current financial year and the next and will involve recruiting more frontline clinicians. Dave Limer, East Midlands regional organiser at UNISON, the UK’s largest union, said in a statement to the LDRS the new ambulances are “much needed” and a “step in the right direction”, but that “new vehicles alone won’t solve the pressures facing the service and staff”. He said: “East Midlands Ambulance Service workers are under relentless strain.
Many are at risk of fatigue, stress and burnout as they deliver vital services to patients.
“Sustained investment is needed not only for vehicles, but in frontline crews, control rooms, support services, training and staff wellbeing. Without funding across the whole service, morale will continue to suffer. ” The trust’s spending on private ambulance services has increased by more than 40 percent over the last three financial years.
In 2023/24, EMAS spent £13,347,000 on this area, rising to £14,509,000 in 2024/25 and sitting at £18,728,000 for the 2025/26 financial year – a 40.32 percent increase from 2023/24. In a statement to the LDRS, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust Director of Finance Stuart Poynor said the extra investment was “good news for local people”. He said: “We’ve secured additional NHS funding over the next three years to increase ambulance capacity across the East Midlands.
“Alongside this investment, and the progress being made at hospitals to reduce handover delays, we are moving ahead with our plans to keep improving how we respond to emergencies, so patients get the right help first time and the care they need as quickly as possible. “ The additional funding will allow us to recruit more frontline clinicians and bring more ambulances in. “Recruitment, training and building new vehicles all take time.
While this happens, we will continue to use private ambulance services, where needed, to support our response and maintain patient safety while this additional capacity is put in. ”
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