Midwives Vote for Toyota’s ‘Big Baby’

Much-anticipated deliveries for Warwickshire community midwives are seven Toyota Yaris Verso models – chosen because the compact and versatile cars manage to fit so many benefits into a small package.

South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust, based in Warwick, runs a fleet of 45 cars and 20 vans on a restricted user-chooser basis, including a pool of cars for its midwives. When Toyota Fleet carried out an audit for the trust, it suggested that the Yaris Verso could solve the problem of trying to fit bulky birthing packs into small cars.

The midwives were “very impressed” when they tried out a Yaris Verso demonstrator, says John Findlay, Service Manager for the Trust’s Facilities Department. The midwives said that: “The Yaris Verso is very comfortable and easy to drive with more than adequate space for equipment, both for the occupants and in terms of what they can carry.”

Gemma Wild, Community Midwifery Co-ordinator said: “Community midwives who visit people at their homes need a car that’s above all reliable but that can also carry all the equipment they need, because they effectively work from the car.”

The high level of standard equipment and commanding yet comfortable driving position were also seen as attractive features. “One of the main problems for the midwives in the past has been back pain as a result of a lot of driving. The comfortable driving position of the Yaris Verso has already proved to minimise the problem.”

“When the midwives said they liked the cars, we checked the figures, and they stacked up,” says Mr Findlay. “We wouldn’t really have known about the Yaris Verso if Toyota Fleet hadn’t come to see us.”

The Trust is now switching to Yaris Verso on a seven-pool car standard scheme due for renewal this year. Some midwives currently run leased cars outside the scheme, but the aim is to enlarge the pool and replace these with Yaris Verso as they come up for renewal. The nurses cover on average 10,000 miles a year and the cars are being leased on a three-year contract hire basis from First National via local dealer Murley Warwick.

The Yaris Verso, engineered to combine the interior space of a compact MPV with the economy of a medium-sized car, features foldaway seating that goes under the floor which enables it to be converted quickly from a five-seater to a high-capacity load-carrier. Its
1.3-litre VVT-i engine offers a punchy 85bhp combined with 44mpg combined-cycle fuel consumption.

ENDS