The London Ambulance Service is the busiest ambulance service in the UK, answering approximately 3000 emergency calls a day, totalling up to two million per year.
The service covers an area of 620sq miles across the capital and provides 9 million London residents with emergency healthcare, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year round.
Spending around £58 million a year on a wide variety of products and services to aid daily operations, all public money must be used in a responsible and resourceful way, and achieve the very best value for money.
In 2021, the main aim for the service was to install robust fencing and security around the perimeter of six London Ambulance Service stations. This was an essential requirement to ensure those working within the establishments are kept safe and the sites are secure, to reduce crimes. A range of products, including swing and bi-folding gates were specified and installed to allow access for both vehicles and pedestrians.
Jacksons Fencing’s bi-folding gates run via smooth and fast opening and closing mechanisms, which is vital for emergency service stations; quick access to and from the stations whilst ensuring the sites remain secure when the gates are not in use.
Jacksons offers these gates in both mesh and vertical bar styles and these can be installed to match the rest of the fencing. As a turnkey solutions provider, Jacksons designs, manufactures, and installs fencing, gates, access control devices, and provides gate automation, and callout and maintenance contracts. Many of the gates at the stations were automated and controlled by keypads for ease, a big priority for the Ambulance services to ensure access to authorised personnel. All Jacksons’ automated gate systems are installed by DHF-trained engineers following current safety standards and implementing all required safety devices.
Jacksons Fencing and London Ambulance Services agreed that due to the rise in acts of crime, the Barbican range was to be installed across most stations, providing a high level of security while maintaining good levels of visibility. This popular range of fencing features welded pale-through-rail construction, concealed panel-to-post connectors, and the bolts and rivets are hidden therefore preventing them from being removed. Barbican’s smart appearance also helps to make it more aesthetically pleasing for the Ambulance staff as well as helping it to fit into the residential area without creating a hostile environment.
At one of the chosen sites, Securi-Mesh fencing was installed to replace 11.6m of chain link fencing. This range features clamp bars and tamper-proof fixings to strengthen and protect it against criminal behaviour, such as vandalism. It also features small apertures, preventing cutting or climbing, but still providing good visibility. The fencing is coated in a premium Galfan® zinc alloy ensuring it has long-lasting protection against weathering, rust, or corrosion. It can also be polyester powder coated in a range of colours to suit brands or increase visibility.
As with all Jacksons’ products, everything comes with a 25-year service life guarantee, keeping those within the establishment safe and secure for years to come.
Installing these robust security measures has helped to reassure the teams and services across these emergency sites that their vehicles and assets are protected.
Manufactured from premium quality materials and expert processes, Jacksons’ products are built to last, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming repairs and replacements over time, and preventing disruption to our critical healthcare services.
Peter Jackson, Jacksons Fencing Managing Director, comments: “On behalf of Jacksons Fencing, we would like to thank the ambulance services and NHS for all of their hard and amazing work through the pandemic and beyond. It truly was an honour to be specified for this vital project which aimed to secure and protect the London Ambulance Services. Providing them with robust security allows the service and staff to focus on working to protect the people of London.”
He continues: “We hope that the security solutions we’ve installed will enable the services to continue their crucial operations without any disturbance. Investing in long-lasting, high quality products ensures the security of these critical services is fit for purpose now and for years to come.”
