Plans for new state-of-the-art base unveiled

EEAST has drawn up plans to create a state-of-the-art hub on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds to further improve the response we can provide to patients.

The revamped station – which will be known as a central reporting hub – will be developed at Suffolk Park on the Moreton Hall estate, which neighbours the A14 if planning permission for the project is granted later this year.

The modern building will provide significantly improved facilities for staff, including an outside gym, quiet spaces, a wellbeing garden and fishpond, kitchen and dining area and training rooms.

It will also include a “make ready” zone, where a dedicated team will work around the clock to clean and restock all vehicles to a consistently high standard. This will mean there is always a fully-stocked, cleaned and checked vehicle ready for crews to use so that they can deliver life-saving care to patients faster

The hub has been carefully designed to minimise its environmental impact, in line with the NHS’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. It will be powered by photovoltaic cells on its roof and constructed using “greener” materials and construction methods wherever possible.

A computer-generated walk-through showing the basic lay out of the building is available here. Staff have already been given the opportunity to influence the design, and are now helping to finalise the way the building will look.

Jackie Nugent, infrastructure and estates transformation programme lead at EEAST, said: “We are investing significantly in our estates so that we can provide modern, fit-for-purpose facilities for our staff while improving the response we are able to provide to the public.

“The hub in Bury will be first of a number of new stations we develop across the region. It will include an on-site vehicle workshop, which will allow us to bring maintenance in-house and keep more ambulances on the road. The hub will also have 24/7 make ready facilities so that we can make sure our vehicles are prepared to a consistently high standard. This will free up frontline clinicians from doing this prep work so that they can focus on what they do best – caring for patients.

“Importantly, the hub will also provide a vastly improved working environment for our staff and new facilities, such as gym and dedicated welfare spaces where crews can relax between calls, in turn boosting their wellbeing.

“This flagship development will form a blueprint which we will then roll out across the rest of our patch to ensure our committed teams are working from the right buildings and with the right vehicles and equipment to provide the highest quality care to our patients.”

EEAST has appointed Assura as a development partner for the project. If planning permission is granted later this year, construction will begin in early 2023 with the building operational by summer 2024.

Wednesday 16th November 2022