Harlow MP praises staff during visit to refurbished ambulance station

MP, Robert Halfon, has welcomed a recent £500,000 investment in the ambulance station at Princess Alexandra Hospital, improving conditions for staff, creating a ‘Make Ready’ facility for faster ambulance turn-arounds and providing life-saving services for Harlow people.  

 

East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) has made significant changes to Harlow Ambulance Station to create a modern and fit-for-purpose working environment.

Refurbishments have included:

•         Complete re-modelling of the existing ambulance station to create a bespoke Make Ready Hub
•         Complete re-modelling of the adjoining building to create a new operational area
•         Installation of new LED lighting throughout
•         Improved heating and cooling ventilation system
•         Creation of a dedicated wellbeing area
•         Creation of a new outdoor Ambulance washing facility.

The Make Ready Hub will ensure that ambulances are always fully stocked, fuelled, cleaned, and checked ready for our crews when they go on shift.

In between patients, the specialist teams also work around the clock cleaning vehicles to Infection Prevention and Control standards and will re-stock any medication or equipment used on the last patient, freeing up more time for frontline clinicians to care for patients. Crews formerly had to clean and re-stock their own ambulances.

Robert Halfon, who visited on Friday (Nov 25) said: “It was an honour to open the new EEAST ambulance station and to talk and meet with the dedicated staff, who, along with all the nurses and doctors at Princess Alexandra Hospital have given so much to support our community over the past few years of the pandemic. 

“Not only do they have an improved environment but the creation of a Make Ready facility will provide EEAST clinicians with clean and re-stocked ambulances, allowing them to spend more time doing the thing they do best – taking care of patients, safely and efficiently.”

Claire Nehame, manager of the new Make Ready Hub said: “Make Ready crews save at least 15 minutes per shift for crews, which over a year, across the whole organisation, can add up to thousands of hours of clinician time which is released into the community.”

EEAST Chief Executive Tom Abell said: “The works at Harlow are part of the Trust’s commitment to a region-wide Make Ready Programme and also will help accommodate the additional staff we need to achieve our employment targets and get more crews on the road, caring for patients.”

The refurbishment was carried out by Essex-based property and construction consultancy Ingleton Wood. Christopher Mabbutt, Partner at Ingleton Wood, said:

“Ingleton Wood takes great pride in being part of this project, helping to improve the service to the community and creating a better environment for the hard-working NHS staff and ambulance crews.”