Ambulance emergency staff move from their home in Banstead to join colleagues at the new headquarters and operation centre in Crawley.

Control staff at the Emergency Operations Centre based in The Horseshoe, off Bolters Lane, relocated to the Manor Royal site as part of the South-East Coast Ambulance Service restructuring plans on September 5.

SECAmb made the announcement of the new headquarters after agreeing a lease with Surrey County Council at the beginning of the year with the aim to reduce the number of ECO’s in the South-East from three to two.

Sue Skelton, associate director of operations said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming EOC staff from Banstead.

“We hope they enjoy their new modern and bright working environment alongside the benefits of joining their colleagues in operating on the new CAD, which has been very well received by staff already using the system.”

The staff’s relocation comes after the employees at the ECO in Lewes, East Sussex moved to the Trust’s base in Crawley earlier this summer with the intention to combine the services each centre provides.

SECAmb second site will be run out of the Trust’s East EOC in Coxheath, Kent and both centres will be operating on the new computer aided dispatch system – which has been in operation since July.

The new CAD system records all data related to 999 and urgent requests for ambulance assistance and is primarily used by EOC staff to assess, prioritise and - if necessary - dispatch ambulance crews to emergency calls.

Ms Skelton added: “The move to the new control room, HQ and new CAD bring huge benefits to staff and ultimately the patients who we provide a service to.

“We understand that change isn’t always easy and we’d like to thank everyone for their patience, understanding and professionalism as this vital project to move to a new HQ, EOC and new CAD has progressed.”

Several smaller departments including Clinical Education and Fleet and Logistics will continue to operate out of the Trust’s Banstead site the EOC closure completes the Trust’s reduction plans reportedly bringing it in line with the majority of other ambulance trusts around the country who have two EOCs.