New £5m Banstead Ambulance Hub Opens Doors Next Week
The South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) is set to shake up emergency care in Surrey with a brand-new Make Ready Centre at The Horseshoe, Banstead. Built on the site of its old headquarters, this is SECAmb’s first new-build Make Ready Centre in the county and a major leap forward in ambulance services.
High-Tech Fleet Workshop and Staff Facilities
The cutting-edge centre features a fleet workshop and a specialist Make Ready vehicle prep system. Staff will benefit from modern offices plus rest and wellbeing zones designed to keep crews sharp and ready for anything.
SECAmb’s Make Ready Centres house expert teams who clean, restock, and maintain the ambulance fleet, freeing frontline paramedics to focus purely on saving lives. Banstead joins eight other centres in the region, following the success of the Brighton Make Ready Centre launched in 2020.
Ambulance Crews to Start Shifts from New Hub
Crews at Epsom, Leatherhead, Redhill, Dorking, and Godstone ambulance stations will now begin and end their shifts at Banstead. Meanwhile, a network of Ambulance Community Response Posts (ACRPs) at existing and new locations will maintain quick response times in surrounding towns.
These response posts offer rest and break facilities for crews between emergency calls, ensuring they stay fresh and ready to roll.
Redevelopment of Old Ambulance Stations Underway
SECAmb is selling or has sold older and less ideally located ambulance stations in Leatherhead, Redhill, Dorking, and Godstone for redevelopment. Response posts will either stay put or relocate nearby to maintain coverage. For instance:
- Redhill station has been sold but will remain a response post until at least 2023.
- Leatherhead crews will move to a new response post on Kingston Road later this summer.
- Godstone station sale is pending; meanwhile, crews operate from Godstone fire station and will add Oxted fire station to their posts this autumn.
- Epsom and Dorking stations will continue as response posts, along with Surrey Fire and Rescue HQ in Reigate.
Staff from Redhill Ambulance Station begin moving into Banstead on Monday, 16 May, with others following in a phased approach.
Paul Fisher, SECAmb Operating Unit Manager for Gatwick & Redhill, said: “It’s great that the new centre is becoming fully operational. The modern building brings this part of Surrey in line with how we already operate in most of the region, including Gatwick. “The public can rest assured we’re protecting ambulance services locally by running response posts at both existing and new sites. Huge thanks to everyone involved in this exciting project—I look forward to seeing staff make it their new home.”
What Are Make Ready Centres?
SECAmb’s Make Ready Centres are home to specialist teams who:
- Deep clean, restock, and inspect ambulances for faults.
- Free up frontline crews to spend more time treating patients instead of prepping vehicles.
- Reduce infection risks by ensuring thorough sanitisation.
- Keep vehicles on the road for longer with regular maintenance.
- Are supported by Ambulance Community Response Posts (ACRPs) spread across the region, based on patient demand.
- Provide improved training, support, and rest facilities for crews.
- Enable crews to respond from their usual towns but with fully prepped vehicles and staggered shift start and finish times.
These centres represent a fresh approach to ambulance operations designed to boost efficiency and patient care across Surrey and the wider region.
