New £8m ambulance station announced in Cardiff

A new multi-million-pound ambulance station for Cardiff was announced yesterday (Jan 22) to boost productivity among Welsh Ambulance Services.

The Welsh government has committed to an £8m investment into a new, cutting edge facility in the capital’s Pontprennau area.

The state-of-the-art station will allow emergency crews to collect their vehicles more readily as Dedicated Fleet Assistants will have cleaned and re-stocked vehicles in the new ‘Make Ready Depot’. This will enable frontline crews to respond to emergencies more quickly and efficiently.

Health minister, Vaughan Gething made the announcement in the Blackweir Ambulance Station where the emergency and non-emergency crews are currently based until the new facility is ready.

He said:

“This investment in the Welsh Ambulance Service shows our commitment to driving improvements in response times following my announcement last week of plans to increase ambulance availability through a Ministerial Taskforce.

“The new station will give space for vehicles to be cleaned and restocked by a dedicated team, a job previously undertaken by ambulance crews, to enable frontline staff to be more readily available to respond to patients in the community.”

The new station has been designed from a reconfiguration of the industrial park’s Merton House, and renovations will begin in May and take around a year to complete.

The Blackweir station’s fleet workshop will remain in use for the time being while a business case is developed with the government for consideration.

Chris Turley, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s interim executive director of Finance and ICT, said:

“We welcome and thank the Minister for his investment in our new station.

“We’re especially excited about the Make Ready Depot, which will enable our crews to access clean and fully stocked vehicles at all times, and thus spend more time in the community with patients – not to mention improving infection control.”

Robert Brunnock, the Trust’s locality manager in Cardiff, added:

 “It’s taken quite some time to progress this development, so we’re thrilled to be entering the next stages of acquisition and construction.

“We would like to thank all who have been involved to date and look forward to progressing this modern and fully integrated facility for a leading ambulance service that serves the communities of Wales.”

Photo: Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust