A community ambulance station has opened at a flagship Black Country business estate as part of moves to provide more low cost bases and ensure a better spread of ambulance cover around the region
West Midlands Ambulance Service chose the Pensnett Estate, Kingswinford, to site the new post because of its key location and accessibility and its reputation for being secure and well managed.
Owners London and Cambridge Properties Ltd (LCP) also provided space for a charging point for an ambulance in a dedicated parking area for the 550 sq ft unit at the estate’s Innovation Centre.
The station will be operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has embarked on a programme of disposing of its older, traditional stations which are more expensive to run and maintain in favour of opening up more low maintenance, low cost facilities. In some cases this has meant moving to fire stations, police stations and industrial units.
Brian Nicholas, Interim Head of Building Services (Estates) of West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “We chose the Pensnett Estate for a community ambulance station because its location and road links mean we can respond to patients quickly. It also provides us with the right standard of accommodation which we require to look after our staff.”
There were 13 ambulance stations in the Black Country, including Wombourne. As part of the Make Ready project there will be 28 smaller community ambulance stations set up, plus two large hubs which will be operational stations and bases for fleet maintenance. Ambulances will start and finish at a hub but will be sent out to the community stations where they will be ready to respond to medical emergencies.
The 185 acre Pensnett Estate is one of the largest secure industrial estates in Europe and home to almost 200 businesses. Accommodation available to let ranges from offices of 111 sq ft to warehouse and production units of up to 36,525 sq ft.
Owner LCP is based there and is one of the UK’s largest private owners of industrial and retail property. Its total commercial property portfolio in excess of 14 million sq ft is held for long term investment purposes.