Emergency services come together under one roof to enable quicker response in Bucks

Thames Valley Air Ambulance has announced that one of its critical care response vehicles will now be able to operate from Marlow Fire Station.

The move will see pre-hospital critical care crews able to use Bucks Fire & Rescue’s Marlow station as a standby location from which to reach people in need of urgent care.

They will also have a dedicated space to hold debriefs and sensitive discussions after being called out to treat those who are seriously ill or injured.

In addition to its helicopter, the charity has five critical care response cars which provide greater flexibility in areas difficult to access by aircraft.

These cars frequently use ambulance standby locations, such as one in Slough.

Securing access from Marlow Fire Station will give them more deployment options across a region covering over 2,000 square miles.

Martin Bowdler, assistant director of operations at Thames Valley Air Ambulance, said: “This is a great example of emergency services coming together to protect our community and we are grateful to BFRS for their work to make this happen.

“Being able to operate one of our critical care response vehicles in Marlow will mean we are ideally placed for responding to incidents across the area, when every minute matters.

"As well as our helicopter operating from our base in Benson, having response cars at key places across the region means we can give people the best possible chance of survival and recovery by bringing the hospital to the patient, wherever they are.”

Bucks Fire & Rescue Service’s group commander for service delivery in the south, Phill Mould, said: “Marlow Fire Station is already utilised by South Central Ambulance Service, to provide emergency ambulance crews with standby and welfare facilities.

"We see working with the Thames Valley Air Ambulance as a natural extension of this facility and are pleased to be able to support the safety and welfare of our emergency service partners.

“This is another great example of collaborative working, enabling the provision of emergency services to the community whilst supporting the welfare of those that provide it.”