New ambulance hub is so important, says NHS boss

11 October 2025

Aimee Dexter and

Debbie Tubby,BBC Suffolk

Neill Moloney said the investment in the new hub would improve efficiency

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Neill Moloney looking towards the camera smiling. He has short grey hair and is wearing a black suit jacket, a white shirt and yellow tie. — Neill Moloney said the investment in the new hub would improve efficiency

An NHS boss said a new ambulance hub was "so important" for the service as it coped with increasing demand.

The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) opened the Ipswich Ambulance Hub on Friday.

The trust said the £12.81m development on Ransomes Industrial Estate in the town would enhance operational efficiency and staff wellbeing.

Neill Moloney, chief executive of the trust, said: "This investment was so important to ensure we are modernising the facilities and making them ready for what we will likely see as an increase in demand in the next few years."

Mr Moloney said the hub would make a "huge difference" in the trust's ability to get vehicles back on the road and attending incidents as quickly as possible.

The £12.81m facility was funded by EEAST and the Department of Health and Social Care

Shaun Whitmore/BBC An aerial photograph of a new ambulance hub which has a grey multi-storey in the left corner and the main building in the centre. Both structures have parking bays outside. — The £12.81m facility was funded by EEAST and the Department of Health and Social Care

The Lord-Lieutenant of Suffolk, Clare, Countess of Euston, formally opened the hub.

EEAST said the new facility included:

A vehicle repair workshop and vehicle preparation area
Comprehensive "make ready" services to ensure ambulances are restocked, cleaned and maintained
A two-storey car park with a capacity for 78 cars and 29 ambulances, with the ability for it to be extended
Quiet rooms, relaxation areas, a multi-faith room and a dedicated wellbeing garden

Ms Gaskin said everyone had seemed happy about the new facility

Shaun Whitmore/BBC Kerry Gaskin was looking at the camera smiling. She had long blonde hair and was wearing pink lipstick and a black top. She was standing in front of a white ambulance which had a yellow and green chequered pattern in the middle. — Ms Gaskin said everyone had seemed happy about the new facility

Kerry Gaskin, local area manager for the trust, said: "It is a state-of-the-art purpose-built station and is just brilliant for staff wellbeing."

About 160 staff had relocated to the new site from the previous location on Woodbridge Road East.

A vehicle repair workshop and vehicle preparation area was built as part of the development

Shaun Whitmore/BBC An ambulance, which was yellow and green and had AMBULANCE written on the front, was on a grey vehicle ramp in the middle of a room. Another ambulance is parked on the right. — A vehicle repair workshop and vehicle preparation area was built as part of the development

EEAST received £10m funding from the Department of Health and Social Care.

It also secured funding of £109,000 from Great British Energy to install solar panels, which the trust says would help to achieve its net zero carbon emissions.

Mr Moloney said EEAST was looking to implement similar facilities across the region.

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