Cardiff Ambulance Station awards poster competition winners

A POSTER competition to adorn the walls of Cardiff’s state-of-the-art new ambulance station has produced a winner.

Radnor Primary School took first place in the competition to produce drawings on the theme of using 999 appropriately for the new facility in Pontprennau, which opened in March.

Pupils have been presented with a defibrillator which will take pride of place on the external wall of the school, also enabling the community to also use it.

The £8 million Welsh Government-funded facility on the Avenue Industrial Estate is the new home of emergency and non-emergency crews previously based at the ageing Blackweir station.

The Trust’s Cycle Response Unit is also based in the new facility, which boasts a Wellbeing Suite for staff and a ‘Make Ready Depot’ where dedicated Fleet Assistants clean and re-stock vehicles, enabling clinicians to spend more time with patients.

Nia Cockburn, Project Manager at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “It was important for us to come together with the local community as we moved and established ourselves in the area.

“We teamed up with our Patient Experience and Community Involvement Team to find a fun way to integrate with the local area, and a poster competition was the result.

“It was brilliant fun judging all the entries and picking a top five, especially when we got to visit the schools and children to present them with their awards.

“The children loved the event ambulance that we brought along on the day, so they’re really excited now to visit the station in the summer which is another way to say thank you for their participation.

“We would like to extend a special thanks to Radnor Primary School for their involvement, particularly Kane Morgan who teaches at the school for arranging the whole school’s participation in the competition."

The defibrillator was sponsored by Lawray Architects, whose Director Chris Evans said: “Having worked closely with the team at the Welsh Ambulance Service to develop the new Cardiff station, it was fitting that Lawray Architects sponsor the prize.

“It was a pleasure to award Miss Bakri and the local community a brand new defibrillator.”

The competition runners up, Jayden Philip, Isla Sharp, Lewis Sainsbury and Flo Hall, also from Radnor Primary School and Christchurch Breakfast Club, have been presented with the Cardiff edition of the Monopoly board game and a certificate for their efforts.

"All entries into the competition were really appreciated. A collage of all posters is being created to also be displayed on the wall next to the winning five canvases" says Nia.

Editor’s Notes
For more information, please call Communications Specialist, Emily Baker, on 07811 752110 or email Emily.Benwell@wales.nhs.uk