King's Lynn ambulance hub to share £6.5 million funding package

Ambulance services in West Norfolk are set to benefit from a new £6.5 million regional funding package.

Officials say the money for the East of England Ambulance Service Trust is part of a special package of investment to mark the 70th anniversary of the formation of the NHS.

The money will now be used to complete improvement works to 10 service hubs, including Lynn, as part of the trust’s effort to establish a network of regional hubs supported by community ambulance stations.

It is hoped the work will be completed in time for this winter.

Wayne Bartlett-Syree, the trust’s director of strategy and sustainability, said: “This is a significant investment which will improve facilities and enable us to save crews time, meaning we can increase their availability to respond to patients in the community.

“It will help us speed up our plans to update 10 existing hubs across the region and improve facilities to clean, prepare and stock ambulances and response cars.

“The crew time that will be released will support our work to improve our overall performance.”

The announcement of the extra funding comes just a few days after the trust was judged to “require improvement” in a report by Care Quality Commission inspectors.

Although the standard of care provided by the trust was graded as outstanding in the report, the commission raised concerns about low staff morale and the relationships between staff and senior managers.

But Mr Bartlett-Syree said the extra funding was good news for staff, as well as for patients.

He added: “It is critical that we maximise the availability of our existing clinicians to support patients who need a response in the community.”