Ambulance crews move into co-located fire station in North Tyneside

This month, North East Ambulance Service crews moved into Wallsend Community Fire Station in North Tyneside, alongside Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) colleagues.

This new ambulance station is part of an investment which will allow the Trust to further improve clinical care for patients and to recover ambulance response time standards.

In 2022/23, we secured a multi-million pound investment plan with commissioners to allow us to further improve clinical care for patients, recover ambulance response times and make NEAS a great place to work and grow.

Much of that money has gone into growing the workforce, with nearly 500 new colleagues, including paramedics, clinical care assistants, ambulance care assistants, health advisors, senior clinical advisors and advanced practitioners recruited over the last year.

Tarryn Lake, director of finance and digital at NEAS, said: “Our ambition is to deliver outstanding performance and safe, compassionate and inclusive care. To do that, we have to ensure we have the right people and equip them with the right tools to do their roles.

“The additional investment we were able to secure from our commissioners last year allowed us to recruit more people and invest in a wide vehicle and equipment replacement project, including additional ambulances, to help us improve our service to our patients.”

Initially, ambulance crews will operate between 8am – 8pm with a plan to extend this to a 24-hour station in the near future.

Locality manager, Ruth Corbett said: “We are looking forward to moving into the new station and serving the needs of our local community and adding extra resource to the north side of the River Tyne. It’s also a chance to work closely with our colleagues and build relationships as a collaborative emergency service.”

Trevor Sturrock, TWFRS Station Manager at Wallsend Community Fire Station, said: “This is another great example of how the service is working closely in partnership with our blue light associates across Tyne and Wear.

“The crews at Wallsend Community Fire Station will give our emergency service colleagues at the ambulance service a warm welcome as we all have the same motivation, which is the protection and safety of people in the local community.

“The co-location project at Wallsend is just one of our many collaborations that are operational across the region, as we also share working spaces with NEAS in Hebburn, Marley Park, Rainton Bridge, Swalwell, Washington and West Denton. We look ahead to both sets of crews working together in the future for many years to come.”

The Howdon Ambulance Station is located at Wallsend Community Fire Station, Hadrian Road, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, NE28 6HS.