The Welsh Ambulance Service spent £4.5 million on bariatric ambulances, inflatable lifting cushions and heavy duty stretchers over the last two years.
42 modified ambulances were bought during 2010/11 at a cost of over three million pounds. It followed the purchase of 15 fully equipped A&E ambulances, bought for over one million pounds during 2009/10.
30 inflatable lifting cushions and 9 heavy duty stretchers have also been purchased over the last two years, at a cost of nearly £140,000.
The figures have been obtained by the Welsh Conservatives under the Freedom of Information Act.
Shadow Health Minister Darren Millar AM (pictured) said:
“While it is no surprise that the Ambulance Service has decided to invest in this equipment – the scale of the purchases really is a sad indictment of the Welsh obesity problem.
“As the average weight of patients gets larger, so the NHS is faced with no option if it is to respond quickly.
“However – where this plainly shows we are still failing dramatically – is in preventative measures.
“Our spiralling obesity problem doesn’t just increase the cost of NHS treatment; it also has extensive implications on infrastructure budgets. That’s only going to get worse and worse at a time when the Welsh Labour government is cutting the health budget by a billion pounds.
“We need a new way of tackling the problem that doesn’t just deal with the consequences.
“Labour should be investing in resources that confront this problem head-on, for the sake of future generations. It remains crucially important that people have the right information about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles – and that must start at as early an age as possible.”
