Rubery is to get its own ambulance hub

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RUBERY is to get its own ambulance hub as part of the Make Ready scheme, which is being implemented across Birmingham.

We reported back in August how Lickey End had been chosen to be West Midlands Ambulance Service’s North Worcestershire hub, after the trust didtched plans to have just one hub for the whole of the county.

Now, Hollymoor Point, Hollymoor Way, less than six miles away, will provide another ambulance hub to serve the south of the Second City.

At the hub, the ambulances will be cleaned, stocked and prepared for the clinical staff by a team of dedicated Ambulance Fleet Assistants (AFAs).

They will also deal with any other issues regarding the fleet of ambulances, enabling crews to focus on looking after patients.

As well as two hubs for Birmingham - the Rubery one and a second one in Erdington to serve the north - there will be 31 new community ambulance stations across the city and neighbouring Solihull.

They will replace the current nine traditional ambulance stations, which will all be sold in a bid to make the service more cost-effective.

And West Midland Ambulance Service claims that while the current level of ambulance cover in the city will be maintained, the service provided will increase with the introduction of Community Paramedic schemes in several areas.

Those, with additional training in advanced patient assessment and procedures, will be able to treat many more patients at the scene, rather than taking them to A&E.

The ‘Make Ready’ system should be in place in Birmingham and Solihull by next year.

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