EMAS modernises estate to support expanding ambulance service
Plans include new hubs to accommodate growing workforce and ambulance fleet
The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) has unveiled plans to modernise its estate to accommodate increasing demand and create a service equipped for the future.
The initiative aims to recruit hundreds of additional staff and deploy 40 more ambulances to enhance response times across the region.
EMAS seeks to develop larger, modern ambulance hubs while continuing investment in existing stations, providing improved facilities for staff wellbeing, education, and rest.
This plan follows best practices recognised across UK ambulance services, ensuring no reduction in service provision or changes to emergency response arrangements.
EMAS receives approximately 3,500 emergency calls daily, one every 25 seconds, as the population grows and patient needs become more complex.
The first hubs will emerge from a former commercial unit in Northampton and a site at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, consolidating existing stations into these new locations.
Subject to securing planning permission, the Northamptonshire hub is set to be operational by September 2027, followed by the Derbyshire hub in March 2028.
Deputy Chief Executive Will Legge highlighted the program's focus on saving lives through better facilities for frontline teams to provide high-quality care.
Modernising the estate will also support environmental goals such as electric vehicle charging and NHS Net Zero ambitions, helping EMAS operate more efficiently.