Plans to shut Bedford’s ambulance call centre could leave more than 100 local staff out of work, as East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) insisted its slimmed-down model will still provide an “adequate” level of service.
During last night’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (2 June), EEAST chief executive Neil Moloney said around 160 staff across the region are affected by the Trust’s decision to close its Bedford and Chelmsford centres and move to a two-site model, retaining Norwich and opening a new base in Essex.
Councillor Mohammed Nawaz (Labour, Kempston Central and East) asked how many Bedford jobs would be lost.
Read: Councillors ‘slam’ Ambulance Trust for closing emergency call centre “on the hoof”
EEAST ceo, Neill Moloney, said, “The maximum number of staff that it would affect is 103. “But we are clearly now working with staff to consider what their options might be.
“Some have expressed, for example, a desire to move into frontline services. Others have said that they would wish to move to the Chelmsford site, although I accept that that is relatively few at this stage.
“Other staff have said that they don’t wish to wait until the service closes on the Bedford site, and they are asking us to help and support them through the process of looking for an alternative role within the Bedford area.
“We have also explored other ambulance services, the South Central Ambulance Service provides a service in Milton Keynes, and they’re opening up a call centre there for 111.
“We’re working with them to ensure that staff who wish to move to that site can do so,” he said.
Mr Moloney said the Trust hopes to preserve up to 60 jobs by offering clinical staff the chance to work remotely.
However, cllr Dylan Simmons (Conservative, Bromham) raised concerns about the potential impact on patient care if staffing levels are reduced.
He asked whether any contingency planning or stress testing had been carried out to assess the effect of increased call volumes or emergencies with fewer call centres.
EEAST’s emergency operations centre transformation lead, Mike Ward, said: “There’s no intention to reduce capacity and call handling below the threshold that we would need to sustain an adequate service for the public.”
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
