
Wednesday 11th September 2013 – 11.15am – Claire Brown.
A new ‘Make Ready’ ambulance preparation and maintenance hub has opened in Birmingham.
The site, at Hollymoor Point, Hollymoor Way, Northfield, is the home of a new dedicated team of ambulance fleet assistants who clean, stock and prepare ambulances in readiness for clinical staff. It became operational from Tuesday 9th July.
It is one of five hubs in Birmingham and the Black Country. Dudley Hub on Burton Road, Willenhall Hub on Ashmore Lake Way and West Bromwich Hub in Hargate Lane are already operational. A further hub in Erdington is due to open later this month.
Nathan Hudson, Birmingham General Manager, said: “The new hub is a big improvement on our old traditional ambulance stations on Bristol Road in Selly Oak and Monyhull Hall Road in King’s Norton which were past their best and had been for some years. The hub is fresh, clean and modern with comfortable facilities for staff and plenty of room for vehicles and equipment.
“The move into the new hub went well with a few teething problems, typical of a new build, but we’re now fully functional as a hub. This is credit to the work of our management team, excellent planning on their part and all of our staff who have taken the move in their stride. This is a job well done and I would like to thank those involved for their hard work and dedication.
“I am confident that the move to the ‘make ready’ system will go a long way in delivering a better environment for our staff and, more importantly, an even better service to patients in Birmingham.
The construction of the new hub in Northfield has been done in conjunction with Hortons Estate Developments Limited. Richard Norgrove, Property Director from Hortons said: “We are delighted to have worked with West Midlands Ambulance Service once more to complete another “make ready” facility. The development has been completed on time and we look forward to our continued association with West Midlands Ambulance Service”.
The hubs are a central part of ‘Make Ready’, a project to overhaul and modernise the ambulance service in the West Midlands. Based on fifteen-and-a-half successful years in Staffordshire, the project involves the creation of new hubs and the sale of traditional ambulance stations. The traditional stations are being replaced by smaller, lower maintenance and lower cost community ambulance stations. In Birmingham and the Black Country, the number of new community ambulance stations is nearly three times that of the current traditional ambulance stations.
Ambulances prepared at the hubs will disperse to community ambulance stations from where they will respond to medical emergencies.
The entire ‘Make Ready’ project across Birmingham and the Black Country is due to be fully implemented this year.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
Photograph 1 (group left to right): Operational staff Carey Phillips, Malcolm Dixon, Ray Lloyd, Kat Hall and Dave Roberts outside Hollymoor Hub.
Photograph 2 (left to right): Birmingham South’s Assistant Area Manager Tim Hughes and Area Manager Dax Morris outside Hollymoor Hub.
Photograph 3: Vehicle workshop area at Hollymoor Hub.
Photograph 4: Outside of Hollymoor Hub.
Photograph 5: Make Ready area of Hollymoor Hub.
