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Ambulance 999 call centre at risk of closure

STEVE HUBBARD/BBC An aerial photo of the East of England Ambulance Service Control room and car park. You can see a radio transmitter at the back of the building, along with a row of ambulances, to the front are a number of cars in the car park. The building is red brick and is two stories high to the left hand side with a flat roof, to the right is a hanger for ambulance parking.STEVE HUBBARD/BBC
Some ambulance staff have worked in the control room in Bedford for more than 20 years

A 999 emergency call centre run by East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) is at risk of closure, the trust has confirmed.

About 200 staff are employed at the site in Bedford and three options are being considered: closing, repurposing or refurbishing it.

The trust said the "constraints" of the Hammond Road building "made it very difficult to bring to modern control room standards".

Trade union Unison said it would "strongly oppose any proposal that puts workers jobs at risk".

STEVE HUBBARD/BBC The Bedford office of the East of England Ambulance Service. The building is shown close up with a white sign on the front and the trust logo, it is old red brick and has mirrored windows.STEVE HUBBARD/BBC
The three EEAST call centres take 3,600 emergency calls a day

An email sent to workers in July and seen by the BBC acknowledged the trust had been recruiting and training more staff at its Norwich site.

The Bedford site is the smallest of its three emergency control centres.

It deals with calls from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and parts of Essex and Suffolk, and also houses call-handlers for the 111 service and the local patient transport service.

The BBC understands that if it is closed, some staff will be offered roles in Chelmsford, 48 miles (77km) away or in Norwich, 91 miles (146km) away.

'Worrying time'

Marika Stephenson, the trust's interim deputy chief executive officer, said in a statement: “We are refurbishing our call handling centres in Norwich and Chelmsford to provide the best service to our patients and a modern working environment for staff.

“However, the constraints of the Hammond Road building in Bedford mean it is very difficult to bring it to modern control room standards.

"We are exploring all options for the future of the site and no decisions have been made.

"We understand this is a worrying time for our Bedford call handling colleagues.

"We will review the implications of all these decisions and ensure that we minimise any impact on staff.”

The trust said a final decision would be made by its board in October.

PA Media Sir Kier Starmer making a health speech at the East of England Ambulance Service Trust in Braintree in 2023. The picture shows Sir Keir holding up two pointed hands. He is wearing a white shirt and red tie. There is an ambulance in the background with a logo on it. The lectern in front of him has the slogan "5 missions for a better britain".PA Media
Sir Keir Starmer made a speech at the East of England Ambulance Service last year, during which he promised to make the NHS "fit for the future"

Glenn Carrington, Unison's EEAST branch chairman, said: "This is an extremely upsetting time for the workers based there.

"With everyone, including the new government, recognising that the NHS is on its knees, Unison is calling on the trust to choose to do what is right for these hard-working staff in Bedford by enabling them to keep doing what they do best, ensuring people get the help they need when they dial 999."

The service, which last year had a budget of £442.9m, has to make savings of £16.2m in 2024/25.

But Mr Carrington said the service could not afford to lose "valuable and experienced staff" who were "difficult to recruit and retain".

He also has concerns around capacity at times of extreme need, like the height of the pandemic.

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