The Dacia Duster is fast becoming the vehicle of choice for community first responders (CFR) following South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust’s (SWASFT) decision to deploy the SUVs on its fleet.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is the latest trust to choose the Dacia Duster for its community first responder operation

The trust has purchased six petrol TCe 90 4×2 versions to help provide first-on-scene life-saving medical care throughout the South West.

The decision comes on the back of the positive experiences of South Central Ambulance Charity, which bought 40 Dusters for use by its community first responders in 2020. It’s since said that the vehicles have proven invaluable in enabling its volunteer CFRs to safely provide emergency medical assistance.

SWASFT chose the Duster for its value, space and proven capability to help CFRs fulfil their demanding role.

David Sale, the community responder officer for the Dorset region, said: “When the project team evaluated which vehicles would be suitable, the Duster met our requirements and needs. Its competitive cost allowed us to make the grant go as far as possible, while also providing our CFR volunteers with a safe, comfortable and spacious car in which to carry out their role.

“Having seen how the Duster has performed for South Central Ambulance Service CFRs, we could trust it to be both durable and suitable for the role. A great deal of the area we cover is rural but the 4×2 version is perfectly capable for our requirements and while we have only had the Dusters for a short time, we are already keen to try and add more to our CFR vehicle fleet.”

The vehicle order was placed after its fundraising arm, the South Western Ambulance Charity, successfully secured a £128,000 grant from NHS Charities Together for new CFR vehicles.

Specified in Essential trim, the Dusters have now been equipped with full Community First Responder kit, which includes a defibrillator and observation equipment. They’re also fitted with a Raizer lifting chair to assist patients who have had a fall.

The Dusters will be operating on the road constantly, serving as responder vehicles and attending callouts that can require everything from the provision of life-saving care to simply reassuring a patient. The new arrivals will also support the trust as welfare and incident support cars, and will also be used as on public engagement duties to raise awareness of the trust.

Luke Broad, Dacia brand director for the UK, commented: “It’s clear that the Duster works in every sense for a growing number of trusts, and we’re exceptionally pleased to see that it’s helping them to optimise their operating costs while enhancing the care that they can provide in their communities.”