In the tender documentation for the purchase of an ambulance, the requirement for compliance with the PN-EN 1789 standard almost always appears. Less frequently provided is the answer to the question of what this requirement means in practice — what specific conditions the vehicle must meet and what the contracting authority should actually enforce from this certification.
What the EN 1789 Standard Covers and on What Basis It Applies in Poland
The full designation of the current standard is EN 1789:2020+A1:2024, adopted in Poland as PN-EN 1789+A1:2024-06. Developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), it specifies requirements for the design, testing, performance, and equipping of road ambulances used for the transport and care of patients. The standard applies to vehicles capable of transporting at least one patient on a stretcher.
In the Polish emergency medical services system, this document has a statutory basis. Article 36 paragraph 2 of the Act on State Emergency Medical Services of September 8, 2006, indicates that an emergency medical service team is equipped with a specialized medical transport vehicle meeting the technical and quality features specified in the Polish Standards transposing European harmonized standards. PN-EN 1789 is this standard.
Two areas remain outside its scope — the training of rescue personnel (regulated by the national regulations of each country) and the transport of hospital beds. Everything else, from engine parameters to the material of the seals in the medical compartment, belongs to the area that the standard covers directly or by reference to accompanying standards.
Division of Ambulances According to EN 1789
The standard divides road ambulances into three types according to the increasing level of medical care that the vehicle is to facilitate:
| EN 1789 Type | Purpose | Equivalent in the Polish System |
| Type A | Transport of patients whose condition does not require emergency intervention | T — transport ambulance |
| Type B | Emergency ambulance — transport, basic treatment, and monitoring | P — basic EMS team |
| Type C | Mobile intensive care unit — advanced treatment | S — specialized EMS team |
Note: ZRM stands for Emergency Medical Service Team.
Requirements for the Base Vehicle
EN 1789 is not limited to the medical compartment. Part of its requirements concerns the vehicle as a transport platform.
The standard specifies requirements for engine characteristics, acceleration and braking capabilities, and traction control systems. The vehicle must meet these parameters after the conversion is completed — which means that the manufacturer of the medical conversion is responsible for the behavior of the vehicle as a whole after conversion, not just for the quality of the compartment itself. The standard also covers fire protection and the heating and air conditioning systems of both the driver’s cabin and the medical compartment.
Medical Compartment — Dimensions, Materials, and Lighting
Workspace and Patient Access
EN 1789 requires the medical compartment to provide working conditions for at least two rescuers working simultaneously on a patient lying on a stretcher. The standard specifies patient access from several positions and the freedom of maneuver necessary to perform rescue operations during transport.
Materials and Sealing
The interior surfaces of the compartment must be smooth, impermeable, and suitable for washing and disinfection. All connections and joints are sealed in a way that prevents the ingress of liquids and the formation of biofilm. An ambulance operates in an environment where the risk of cross-contamination is real — an easily cleanable medical compartment is a condition for safe operation, not an aesthetic issue.
Lighting
Three levels of lighting correspond to three different work situations for a rescuer. General lighting provides visibility throughout the compartment. Examination lighting, with specific requirements for intensity and color, allows for a detailed assessment of the patient’s condition during transport. Exterior lighting is used for work at the scene of the incident.
Equipment Mounting and Safety Testing
This is an area that in tender documentation is sometimes described with a single sentence about compliance with the standard — and behind this sentence lies a series of specific technical requirements.
All medical devices, cabinets, cylinders, and seats in the medical compartment must be mounted in a manner that withstands a load ten times greater than the force of gravity — the so-called 10G tests. The requirement includes static, dynamic, and crash tests. A cabinet not mounted in compliance with the standard, which shifts or falls off during sudden braking, poses a direct threat to the patient and personnel. The standard eliminates this risk through precise requirements for both anchoring points and the mounting systems themselves.
Separate requirements apply to seats and seat belts. The size, position, seat anchoring, and belt parameters are specified by the standard, not left to the manufacturer’s discretion.
Electrical sockets and installation inlets in the compartment must have an IP44 degree of protection — protection against solid objects larger than 1 mm and against water splashing from any direction. The standard also requires electromagnetic compatibility (EMC): rescue devices operate simultaneously in the compartment, and their mutual interference could affect their performance.
Oxygen Installation
The requirements of EN 1789 for the oxygen installation cover the entire line — from storage to distribution points.
The standard requires at least two oxygen cylinders or a manifold system. Cylinders and equipment are stored in a ventilated, secured compartment. A pressure regulator and flow meters are required on the oxygen line, and the distribution points must be arranged in a way that ensures quick and safe access to the patient. The material requirement is crucial — all components of the oxygen line must be made of materials compatible with oxygen under pressure, which excludes a number of commonly used plastics and lubricants.
CE Marking — What It Confirms Upon Purchase
An ambulance manufactured in compliance with EN 1789 receives the CE marking for integrated medical systems, i.e., the stretcher system, oxygen installation, and electrical installation. The marking confirms that the vehicle’s medical systems have passed the required tests and comply with relevant EU directives. The document is issued on the basis of conducted tests, not automatically.
In a public tender, the lack of a valid certificate constitutes grounds for rejecting the offer. In daily operation, a vehicle without proper marking exposes the operator to legal liability in the event of an inspection or an incident.
EN 1789 as a Minimum Requirement — What It Means for the Contracting Authority
The standard establishes a European minimum. National authorities and individual operators have the right — and often the obligation — to require more than what the standard guarantees. In the Polish PRM system, the Ministry of Health and the National Health Fund (NFZ) can specify additional requirements for vehicles contracted to the emergency medical system.
This point is of specific importance when drafting technical specifications. The provision “compliance with EN 1789” describes the floor of the requirements, not their ceiling. If the contracting authority needs a specific equipment configuration, a certain layout of equipment, or a control system from a single panel, they must describe it separately in the description of the subject of the contract, rather than limiting themselves to citing the standard.
KG Special Performance manufactures Type A, B, and C ambulances with EN 1789:2024 certification, ISO 9001, and special vehicle homologation at the EU level, based on the Volkswagen Crafter and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
The EN 1789 standard covers the ambulance as a system: the base vehicle, medical compartment, oxygen installation, and equipment mounting tests. A contracting authority who understands the scope of the standard knows what the certificate actually guarantees, and what must be clarified independently in the technical specification to receive a vehicle tailored to real operational needs.
FAQ
Not entirely. EN 1789 is a European minimum, while the requirements for vehicles contracted to the State Emergency Medical Services system may be broader — they are defined by the Ministry of Health and the National Health Fund (NFZ) in separate regulations and ordinances. The EN 1789 certificate is a necessary condition, but not always sufficient.
It means a load ten times greater than the force of gravity applied to each mounted element. The tests are conducted under static, dynamic, and crash conditions — they simulate sudden braking, collision, and extreme transport conditions. Every cabinet, cylinder, device, and seat must pass these tests without displacement or damage to the mounting.
The medical conversion manufacturer provides a certificate of conformity with PN-EN 1789 issued by an accredited certification body. The document indicates the scope of certification and the expiration date. Upon delivery, it is worth checking whether the certificate covers the specific configuration of the conversion, and not just the baseline reference model — this is the contracting authority’s obligation in the acceptance protocol.
The standard specifies requirements for the mounting and integration of medical devices with the vehicle — mechanical, electrical, and compatibility requirements. The medical equipment itself as a product is subject to separate regulations, in particular the EU MDR regulation on medical devices.
