Bedford ambulance 999 call centre at risk of closure - but Trust says no decisions have been made

The trust, which runs the 999 emergency call centre, is refurbishing its other two sites – but said the Hammond Road building’s constraints “mean it is very difficult to bring it to modern control room standards”.

According to reports by the BBC, workers were sent an email in July that acknowledged the trust had been recruiting and training more staff at its Norwich site.

Of the three sites covering EEAST, the Bedford location is the smallest and deal with calls from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and parts of Essex and Suffolk. The centre on the Elm Farm Industrial Estate also has call-handlers for the 111 service and the patient transport service for the area.

In a statement, Marika Stephenson, EEAST interim deputy CEO, said: “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.”

A decision will be made at October’s board meeting.

Trade union UNISON said it was an “extremely unsettling time” for workers.

UNISON EEAS branch chair Glenn Carrington explained: “Although no final decisions appear to have been made on the future of the emergency operations centre in Bedford, this is an extremely unsettling time for the workers based there.

“The union understands the ambulance service needs all its sites to be fit for purpose, which includes ensuring the Hammond Road site is up to scratch. But this mustn’t include any proposal that puts workers’ jobs or patients at risk.”

In January, the trust was removed from the National Recovery Support programme by NHS England, three years after being placed in special measures by the care watchdog the CQC.