Ambulances of the future - more like 007 than 999

Designers have come up with emergency cars with "expandable" sides for a mobile operating table and soft silicone walls that mould to the shape of the patient.

The concepts have been created by Royal College of Art designers and are being shown there until Wednesday.

Working prototypes of the vehicles could be available in four years. They are the result of a two-year project called Healthcare On The Move, funded by the Government's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Doctors, economists and the London Ambulance Service have also been involved in the design process.

There has been a government drive to train more medics in treating patients on the spot, but experts warn this has been slow as technology is lagging. Community-based emergency clinicians commonly work from equipment bags stored in the boot of a car and without a proper treatment space.

RCA designer Rob Thompson said the converted van concept for ambulances was out of date and that future emergency response vehicles had to be adaptable for modern healthcare.

In an interview with the Standard, he said: "This is serious stuff - our students are designing for top manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW. We've got designs which show how you can take a slice of hospital into the community."

Professor Dale Harrow, who headed the project, said the new designs could improve patient safety and reduce ambulances' carbon emissions.

Smart Pods: Healthcare on the Move is part of international design conference Include 2009 at the RCA. Free admission.