South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb)
has announced plans for staff based at Knaphill Ambulance Station
to move in to its established Make Ready Centre in Chertsey.
The plans will see the staff begin and end their shifts at the
Chertsey centre where ambulances for the region are prepared and
maintained.
Knaphill station is not in the right location for current
patient demand and the plans are part of a rolling programme to
move all of the Trust’s station estate to the central-reporting
Make Ready system.
Staff will then respond from a network of response and standby
points in the area including the nearby Woking ambulance
station.
Paramedic and Operating Unit Manager for Chertsey Dan Garratt
said: “We will be liaising closely with all affected staff to
ensure a smooth transition to the existing teams at Chertsey during
the next six weeks. We expect the move to provide staff with
greater access to management support and we’re looking forward to
welcoming them to their new base.”
SECAmb’s Make Ready system minimises the risk of
cross-infection; frees up front-line staff, who historically have
cleaned and re-stocked ambulances, to spend more time treating
patients; and keeps vehicles on the road for longer.
Specially-trained operatives regularly deep-clean, restock and
check vehicles for mechanical faults.
In addition to the Chertsey Make Ready Centre, SECAmb has four
purpose-built Make Ready centres in Ashford and Paddock Wood in
Kent and in Crawley and Tangmere in West Sussex. It also has Make
Ready Centres Hastings and Thanet. Another centre is due to open in
Polegate, East Sussex later this year with a further planned for
Brighton.