A £500,000 refurbishment project to create a ‘Make Ready’ facility for faster ambulance preparation has been completed at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. 

The modern hub provides space and facilities for specialist teams to clean, restock, and maintain vehicles, enabling frontline staff, who had routinely undertaken these tasks, to spend more time treating patients.

By saving thousands of clinician time annually, the hospital has increased capacity to support its local population of around 350,000 people. 

Essex-based property and construction consultancy, Ingleton Wood, was appointed for the project, which included the complete remodelling of the existing ambulance station and adjoining building.

The redevelopment has increased efficiency, enabling ambulances to return to the station for essential cleaning, maintenance, and safety checks before being dispatched to the next callout

Christopher Mabbutt, partner at Ingleton Wood, said: “Harlow Ambulance Station was identified to be modernised to meet the ‘Make Ready’ requirement. 

“This coincided with the expansion of the station into the adjoining part of the building to provide more space and better facilities.

“The redevelopment has increased efficiency, enabling ambulances to return to the station for essential cleaning, maintenance, and safety checks before being dispatched to the next callout.”

The Make Ready Hub will ensure that ambulances are always fully stocked, fuelled, cleaned, and checked ready for dispatch.

And, in between patients, the specialist teams work around the clock cleaning vehicles to infection prevention and control standards and will restock any medication or equipment used on the last patient.

Tom Abell, chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Service, which manages Harlow Ambulance Station, said: “The works at Harlow are part of the trust’s commitment to a region-wide Make Ready Programme and will also help accommodate the additional staff we need to achieve our employment targets and get more crews on the road, caring for patients.”

Not only do they have an improved environment, but the creation of a Make Ready facility will provide clinicians with clean and restocked ambulances, allowing them to spend more time doing the thing they do best – taking care of patients, safely and efficiently

Claire Nehame, manager of the new hub, added: “Make Ready crews save at least 15 minutes per shift for crews which. over a year, across the whole organisation, can add up to thousands of hours of clinician time which is released into the community.”

While the existing ambulance station has been remodelled to create the bespoke Make Ready Hub, a new operational area has been created in the adjoining building. 

Work included the installation of new LED lighting, an improved heating and cooling ventilation system, a dedicated wellbeing area, and an outdoor ambulance washing facility.

Harlow MP, Robert Halfon, who officially opened the facility, said: “Not only do they have an improved environment, but the creation of a Make Ready facility will provide clinicians with clean and restocked ambulances, allowing them to spend more time doing the thing they do best – taking care of patients, safely and efficiently.”