Visiting Blackpool’s flagship ambulance hub

The North West Ambulance Hub on Waterloo Road is a flagship facility that opened in 2023. It serves 200 staff as a central hub for the vital work our local paramedics do. It also houses ambulances, patient transport vehicles and rapid response cars. In reality, ambulances are very rarely there for long as paramedics are busy serving the complex needs of the community. The days of having more resources than patients are sadly long gone. 

Amy, an advanced paramedic, has worked for NWAS for 17 years and told me on a visit there this week that much has changed over the years – largely for the better. Gender equality has been largely achieved among staff, with female paramedics now outnumbering men in Blackpool, but more work is needed to achieve this parity among higher ranking staff. The level of treatment that paramedics are able to offer has increased exponentially, meaning they can be much more effective. But hospital queues are the biggest challenge they face. While the ambulance service itself isn’t wildly under resourced, backlogs in A&E mean they are often waiting for hours to admit patients. 

That’s not to say the Ambulance Service couldn’t be better funded. Matt Cooper, area director for the North West Ambulance Service, told me that historical models of short term funding – for example, injecting cash over winter but imposing a deadline to spend that money – leads to inefficiency and waste. 

The experiences of staff in the ambulance service echoed those shared with me by A&E staff on my recent visit to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Drugs, alcohol and mental health as well as the illnesses of deprivation and neglect are responsible for a huge number of call outs in Blackpool. Amy, who has worked elsewhere in Lancashire, says that working in Blackpool is unique and challenging but ultimately rewarding.  

Thanks to the staff for inviting me to this incredible facility and providing an insight into the vital work that they do. Now that I’ve had my induction, I’m looking forward to joining them for a ride along in the coming weeks to get some first hand experience and a better understanding of the challenges they face.