Huntingdon’s ambulance station could get a major upgrade if bid for government funding is approved.

The station, in Hinchingbrooke, is one of a series of ambulance stations in the region where outdated buildings would be replaced if the East of England Ambulance Services NHS Trust (EEAST) gets its way.

It has put in a £38.6m bid for government funding on top on top of £6.5 million in capital funding as part of a scheme to get support crews get back on to the road more rapidly at 10 sites.

This bid was for short-term plans to be in place before the winter, traditionally the busiest time for the NHS.

If the major bid is approved the stations, including Huntingdon, would be overhauled during 2020-21.

Wayne Bartlett-Syree, the ambulance service’s director of sustainability and transformation, said: “Importantly, if we were successful, we would be able to have staff rest, welfare, training and development facilities all in one place to support our hardworking crews.

“The bid provides for a two-acre site with a 1,200 square metre building to accommodate ambulance crews and vehicles. Each site would have an improved vehicle maintenance workshop and an area to wash and restock ambulances and cars.”

He said: “We are expecting to hear at the end of the year if our bid has been accepted. If we do not get it, we will continue to enact this plan to put in new buildings, however it will be at a much slower pace.”

Ed Garratt, chief officer for Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group, the lead commissioner for the ambulance services, said: ‘We have supported this bid as we know that improved facilities will directly support better patient care. It will mean crews can get back onto the road as quickly as possible and boost crews welfare – which has a direct link to patient care too.”