Why SELDOC Healthcare’s new hybrid fleet of vehicles get the green light

As well as its commitment to providing excellent services to patients across south-west and south-east London, SELDOC Healthcare is dedicated to operating in as environmentally friendly a manner as possible. 

 

Improving our emissions is part of our corporate strategy – and our commitment to this was highlighted in a recent staff survey. 

 

This is one of the principal reasons why we have gone green with our new fleet of 10 hybrid vehicles. 

 

Mobility is key to our delivery of urgent care patient-focused services to nine boroughs across the capital that are home to 2.5 million people. We need to be able to bring healthcare to patients in those areas safely and reliably during weekends, evenings and bank holidays. 

 

This imperative has become even more acute during the Covid-19 crisis, when more people than usual needed to be seen in their own homes rather than in urgent treatment centres. 

 

SELDOC undertook a detailed analysis of our options. We decided to lease our new generation of vehicles because, while the cost of doing so was similar to buying them outright, there was the extra advantage of a fully supported maintenance package. That leaves us with more time to focus on our core patient services. 

 

The choice of vehicle was also crucial. We needed reliable 4x4 models to be able to reach patients in all conditions. They had to have plenty of room for a driver, one or two clinicians and all necessary medical supplies. And they had to be environmentally friendly. 

 

We took plenty of input from our drivers, who ultimately made the choice of Toyota Rav 4 automatic self-charging hybrids supplied and managed by Fleet Alliance. 

 

One of our clinicians, Dr Sharif Zarif, who has worked for SELDOC since 2008 and is based at St Helier Hospital, emphasised the critical requirement for good, reliable vehicles to help him deliver the best possible care to patients. 

 

“It’s very important,” he said. “Our vehicles need to be reliable if it’s late and dark and you need to reach patients without disturbing the community. Finding patients’ needs to be easy, without disturbing others – it’s a sensitive time when you’re making home visits.” 

 

As a doctor, he feels strongly about the environment, which makes hybrid cars ideal. The cars are less noisy, they are cheap to run and they contain plenty of space where he can work. 

 

Jose Alves, who has worked as a driver alongside SELDOC’s doctors for more than 12 years, is also delighted with the new vehicles. “They are a dream to drive,” he said. “The cars are very smooth and quiet, with a lot of space – and plenty of room in the boot area. They are economical and quiet – during the night it’s important not to wake up the neighbours.” 

 

Our fleet supplier has modified the cars to comply with Covid-19 guidelines, with partitions fitted between the front and rear seats so drivers and doctors can be socially distanced. All vehicles now have telematics to ensure reduced response times and better route planning. 

 

Thank you for taking a moment to read this information. We hope you found it interesting. We would love to hear from you if you are interested in what we do and would like to find out a little more. With very best wishes from the SELDOC Team.