IT’S an innovative addition that will help to save more lives as well as the planet.

Ambulances across Hampshire have become the first in the country to be fitted with solar panels in a bid to drive down fuel consumption and keep more emergency vehicles on the road for longer.

South Central Ambulance Service is the first in England to fit their fleet with the climate friendly devices, sticking them on the roof of Rapid Response Vehicles (RRVs) and front lined double crewed ambulances.

It is hoped the move will help save vital cash for the trust which must make savings of £30m over five years and prevent vehicles from having to keep going back to base to recharge batteries of life-saving devices onboard.

So far solar panels have been installed on 36 RRVs to supply power to the secondary battery system that powers all emergency equipment on them and now they are being installed on front line ambulances.

Before the panels, vehicles had to wait on standby with their engines running to recharge essential battery systems onboard, or return to base, leaving the vehicles unable to respond to emergencies.

The use of the solar panels means that the trust’s fleet can be fully mobile at all times, helping to ease demand on service which is seeing an increase of more than ten per cent each year.

But as well as this, they also help to reduce the trust’s carbon footprint, allowing engines to be switched off while on standby, helping to boost the trust’s green credentials.

Brian Miller, SCAS green team co-ordinator, said: “South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is taking the initiative to introduce solar panels to its Rapid Response Vehicles to reduce fuel consumption, fuel and battery replacement costs, the trust’s carbon footprint and the need for RRV’s to return to base to recharge vehicle batteries.”