Red vs Blue Striped Ambulances: What's the Difference?

While driving, you may have noticed that some ambulances have red stripes while others have blue. This color difference indicates the ambulance's role and onboard equipment level.

Red-Striped Ambulance: Emergency Ambulance

A red stripe indicates an Emergency Ambulance. These vehicles have the highest level of medical equipment and respond to emergencies, stabilize the patient, and transport them to the nearest appropriate hospital.

Features:

• Personnel: At least one doctor or paramedic and an emergency medical technician (EMT). Sometimes a nurse may also be present.
• Equipment: Defibrillator, ventilator, ECG, emergency delivery kit, burn kits, trauma equipment—advanced life support tools comparable to ICU conditions.
• Use Cases: Life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks, severe traffic accidents, stroke, and respiratory arrest.

Blue-Striped Ambulance: Patient Transport Ambulance

A blue stripe indicates a Patient Transport Ambulance. As the name suggests, these are used to safely transport stable patients from one healthcare facility to another or between home and hospital.

Features:

• Personnel: Typically an EMT and an ambulance driver (with first aid certification). Additional medical staff may be added if needed.
• Equipment: Basic first aid supplies, stretcher, oxygen cylinder, and blood pressure monitor. Advanced ICU-level devices are not present.
• Use Cases: Transfers of stable patients between hospitals, transport to dialysis or physiotherapy appointments, and discharges from hospital to home.

Note: Nova Ambulance adopts Emergency Ambulance standards for all services, enabling both emergency response and patient transport with top-level safety and equipment.