New site will be needed for ambulance operations centre in Bedfordshire - if it avoids closure


A lack of natural light is one of the limitations of the Hammond Road site, Luton Borough Council’s scrutiny health and social care review group was told.
A review has begun “to determine the optimal number of sites” the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) needs, as well as “how these locations can meet staff and patient requirements, and make the most efficient use of NHS funding”, said a report to the review group.
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Hide AdEEAST chief executive officer Neill Moloney explained: “There’s been a significant amount of concern from staff and local residents about the potential closure of the centre at Bedford, but no decision at our trust board.
“At least two centres don’t meet modern standards, so we’re examining them to plan appropriately in the future. The board is expecting a report back either next month or in March to identify the number we require.
“Once that’s complete, we’ll ensure we’re involving our stakeholders and study some of the criteria enabling us to make a decision around which of those centres will see any change.
“Work will be needed on those not currently meeting requirements. That will involve further talks with our staff and stakeholders and I’m committed to doing that.”
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Hide AdMost ambulance services have no more than two centres serving the needs of all their residents, according to Mr Moloney. There are “some particular limitations” on the Bedford and Chelmsford sites, he warned.
“When we’ve reviewed the opportunities around expanding those centres, we need to ensure they meet modern standards. Investment in those sites would be necessary to make them viable and ensure our staff can operate out of those environments.
“The first step is to determine how many, and then which we’ll need to invest in or whether an alternative arrangement would best meet our patients’ requirements in a cost-effective way. People may have concluded that it would rule out Bedford because of the desired improvements.
“There’s a decision that this site isn’t fit for purpose. We do everything we can to ensure the environment we provide for our staff will look after their welfare. One of the challenges is there’s little natural light in that centre.
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Hide Ad“We know there are limitations on the Bedford site, which would prevent us making those changes. If we conclude there should be three, we’d almost certainly be looking at an alternative site for the Bedford area.”
Asked about the credentials for each site, Mr Moloney added: “The two key criteria are the requirement for resilience and delivering this service efficiently.
“We need to ensure if one (centre) goes down, we can respond. I’ve spoken to staff at Bedford. If there was a decision to close, we’d do everything to retain staff and consider other solutions.
“There would need to be a significant amount of capital investment for those sites (Bedford and Chelmsford) to meet modern standards.”
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