More ambulance cover in Sunderland thanks to additional investment

Sunderland residents are set to benefit from more ambulance cover thanks to North East Ambulance Service expanding its estate.

Following additional investment into the service from its commissioners, NEAS has been able to add extra ambulances to its fleet, and has worked with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) to create a new base at Marley Park Community Fire Station, in Old Mill Road, on 12 February.

Initially one ambulance will be based at Marley Park Community Fire Station for 12 hours a day, with a view to expanding the cover to 24 hours a day over the coming months as more people are recruited.

A further eight additional ambulances have been added to the Trust’s estate so far over the last year, with a further seven to come later this 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 begin a vehicle and equipment investment project to help us improve our service to our patients. We have done this in a phased three-year plan which we are now into the second year of, and have been able to recruit an additional 143 people on emergency ambulances so far.

“The additional ambulances have been placed in areas where we knew our performance needed improving. Since they were introduced, we’re adding more than 1,000 vehicle hours to our fleet every week on average, which equates to getting to around 50 additional patients per day. Our performance is also beginning to show signs of improvements, with our crews reaching our Category 2 patients 10 minutes faster on average compared to last year.”

Since securing the additional investment, NEAS has been able to recruit additional health advisors, paramedics, clinical care assistants and clinicians working within the Emergency Operations Centre.

The service has also increased its advanced practitioner workforce as well as its support service teams, including resource scheduling, informatics and clinical quality, to wrap around operational services and support improvements.

Ambulances are based out of 56 stations across the North East, which includes several stations shared with emergency service and Territorial Army colleagues in Amble, Barnard Castle, Cramlington, Darlington, Prudhoe, Durham, Hartlepool, Newcastle, Sedgefield, Swalwell, and Washington.

Although ambulance crews start and finish their shifts from their base station, they move around the region, depending on patient demand.

Mrs Lake added: “As our service grows, it’s imperative that we ensure our estate can meet our needs. The majority of the new ambulances have been added to existing ambulance stations but many of our stations are now at full capacity and so we’ve turned to our emergency service colleagues, where we already have established relationships and shared stations to ensure we use taxpayers’ money effectively.

“It’s great to be able to build on our relationship with our colleagues at Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service with our shared station at Marley Park. We’re looking forward to working with them on more shared stations over the coming year, working together to serve our local communities.”

Group Manager Andy Lillford, Head of Service Delivery East for TWFRS, said: “We were delighted to open our doors and welcome the crews from the North East Ambulance Service to one of our Wearside facilities.

“The Service embraces the opportunity to work alongside and in partnership with our blue-light colleagues, and having paramedics and ambulances co-locating from Marley Park Community Fire Section can only be seen as a major asset for the local community. 

“The association between our two emergency service organisations is becoming more frequent as we establish and deliver a number of projects across Tyne & Wear. 

“We also appreciate that having more ambulances on the road means that our crews will have additional vital blue-light support when answering incidents in the Sunderland area, and we look forward to working with those emergency service colleagues in the near future.”