A REGULAR patient who was asked for her opinions about new ambulances before an order was placed to buy them, was chosen to hand over the keys to staff at the Lickey End station yesterday.

Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust has bought a new £63,000 999 ambulance and one new passenger transport vehicle at £43,000 to ferry patients to hospital appointments. Both will be based at Barnsley Hall Drive.

Beryl, from Romsley, said: "The Passenger Transport Service has been taking me to regular appointments in Bromsgrove for over 18 months so you could say I am a long-term patient. The Trust asked me for my opinion on the new vehicles, because I really know what it's like to be in the back of them."

The Renault vehicles are part of an ongoing £1 million investment in new vehicles across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

This is the first year of a Trust-wide vehicle replacement programme consisting of seven new Accident and Emergency ambulances and 13 Passenger Transport ambulances.

Beryl was asked for her opinions about a test vehicle before the order was placed, and had discussions with the trust about what was important to patients.

She continued: "It's good to know my ideas are valued and that I've been able to help in a small way."

Fleet manager Neil Crump commented: "This is a major investment for the Trust. A typical Passenger Transport ambulance does about 30,000 miles a year and an Accident and Emergency ambulance 45,000 miles a year. They get a lot of wear and tear, so it's great to be able to replace many of our older vehicles. Each new ambulance is converted especially for the needs of this Trust."

Chief Executive Russell Hamilton said: "Mrs Jones' involvement has been very welcome and is part of the Trust's ongoing commitment to involve local people in the development of the trust. The combination of patients, users and staff involvement represents the way forward in designing services for the future."