Day’s Rental has helped two NHS trusts move from diesel to electric with bespoke Ford E-Transit conversions designed around the demands of hospital logistics.
For The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the challenge went beyond choosing an electric vehicle. Each needed to move laundry, beds and other equipment within a single eight-hour shift, with reliable tail-lift power throughout the working day.
Two trusts, two different workloads
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust required around 50–60 tail-lift operations per shift. At The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the requirement was considerably higher: around 200–250 operations in the same eight-hour window.
Although daily driving distances were only around 20 miles, the repeated lifting and lowering placed significant demands on the power supply. The vehicles therefore had to be specified around both their journeys and the work they would perform while stationary.
Removing exhaust emissions at the loading bay
Moving to electric also addressed a practical concern at the hospitals. Loading bays were situated close to air-intake ducts, creating the potential for exhaust fumes from stationary diesel vehicles to be drawn into the buildings when engines were left running to support tail-lift operation.
The electric vehicles produce no tailpipe exhaust emissions, removing that source of fumes while loading and unloading and supporting each trust’s move away from diesel.
A power supply designed for repeated lifting
Day’s Rental worked with vehicle converter J C Payne, Ford Special Projects and tail-lift specialist Dhollandia to develop a solution suited to each trust’s operating requirements.
The team considered the body conversion, lift type, daily mileage and frequency of use together. Alongside the E-Transit’s 68kWh traction battery, the conversion used a dedicated 12V lithium auxiliary battery selected to handle the high current demand when the tail-lift hydraulics engaged.
A DC/DC charging arrangement replenished the auxiliary battery from the vehicle’s electrical system while the vehicle was in READY mode. This was designed to maintain the power available to the tail lift throughout the shift.
Choosing the right lift for each trust
For The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, the solution was a Dhollandia column lift with a 750kg lifting capacity, guard rails and trolley stops. Its platform depth suited the trust’s needs, and the full-closure design removed the need for separate rear doors or a shutter.
For The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, a 750kg Dhollandia cantilever lift was selected for the higher-frequency workload. This also used a full-closure design.
Matching the lift to each operation was central to the project: the same approach to electrification needed to accommodate two very different patterns of use.
More capacity for the working day
Using a 4.25-tonne Ford E-Transit chassis, together with the weight savings from the full-closure lifts, provided payloads of approximately 1.1–1.2 tonnes, depending on the conversion.
The additional carrying capacity was intended to let each trust move more items per journey, with the potential to reduce trips and the associated number of tail-lift operations.
These projects show why understanding how a vehicle will be used is essential when planning a move to electric. By bringing together the chassis, body, lift and power supply, Day’s Rental helped develop vehicles around the practical needs of each hospital team.
Planning your organisation’s move to electric?
Speak to the Day’s Rental team about your daily routes, payload requirements and specialist equipment needs. We can help you explore a vehicle solution suited to the way your organisation works.
