East of England Ambulance Service accused of ‘expensive and dangerous mistake’ over ambulances without enough airbags
GMB Union has criticised the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) after 28 new ambulances were discovered not to have passenger-side airbags.
The union understands 21 of these ambulances are currently on the frontline but will be pulled.
GMB is working with the Trust to implement changes to the vehicles that will enable them to stay in service, with some adjustments made to their capacity.
This is not the first time EEAST has made a costly mistake with ambulances purchases.
In May 2025, 75 ambulances were ordered with the wrong wheels in an error worth around £133,500.
Donna Thomas, GMB Regional Organiser, said:
“This is yet another expensive and dangerous mistake from EEAST, which put ambulance staff safety at risk.
“We are calling for the Trust to take accountability for the repeated mistakes made when purchasing vehicles.
“It is important to remember this is public money and could be spent on more public-facing staff to cut the unacceptable response times in the East of England.
“GMB is pleased that the Trust is working with us to rectify the error and keep these ambulances in service, where possible.”
