Good training at the heart of a good service

Phil Burns, head of Business Development at Indigo, a specialist in the development and management of car parking solutions, explains the company’s approach to effective security management, for which it has contracts at a number of NHS sites. One especially notable recent development has been the establishment of a new Indigo Security Training Centre at the famous Addenbrooke’s Hospital site in Cambridge. The Centre not only provides accredited security courses to staff at the hospital, but has also opened up commercial opportunities to offer high quality security training to other healthcare facilities.

This year millions of staff, patients, and visitors will park their cars within the safety of a hospital car park, making security a crucial issue for car park operators. Hospital security must always focus on the need to protect essential healthcare facilities, and provide a safe environment for staff and visitors. At the heart of every security operation are the staff, and providing up-to-date and relevant training is key to on-site security. 

Indigo offers public and private car park management for organisations across the UK, and strives to incorporate three core fundamentals – of safety, security, and cleanliness – at the heart of all its services. Working with 19 NHS Trusts across England, Scotland, and Wales, the company regards itself as the marketleader for parking within the healthcare sector. Our role is essentially to help hospital Trusts manage capacity and balance budgets (finances), helping them to give patients, visitors, and staff, a reliable parking supply without infringing on core budgets or the environment. With each hospital facing particular site challenges, and with its own special requirements, meeting Trusts’ parking management needs requires a combination of carefully tailored programmes and constant innovation.