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South  East  Coast  Ambulance  Service

CloudBased CCTV Transformation Case Study

The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAMB) embarked on a strategic programme to replace a patchwork of ageing CCTV systems with a single, cloud-based video security platform. Over a 4-month phased rollout, the Trust migrated 27 operational sites—from headquarters and emergency dispatch centres to vehicle MakeReady Centres—onto 300 Verkada cameras. The result is a resilient, GDPR-compliant solution that slashes operating costs and provides staff with a single pane of glass for security and clinical safety monitoring.

Sector

Emergency Services / NHS Foundation Trust

Employees

~4,500

Annual Call Volume

>1 million (999 & 111)

Sites in Scope

27 (Kent, Surrey, Sussex & Berkshire)

  1. Fragmented estate – six different DVR/NVR vendors, proprietary codecs, and no federated view.
  2. Mixed cabling infrastructure – legacy coax, Cat5e and even analogue twisted pair, complicating PoE camera upgrades.
  3. Compliance risk – inconsistent retention periods and audit trails jeopardised GDPR & NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) adherence.
  4. Operational blind spots – vehicle MakeReady Bays and remote ambulance stations lacked reliable coverage for security and health, and safety.
  5. High total cost of ownership – on-prem servers, licence renewals, and callouts for disparate systems.
  • Unify video security on a single, cloud-managed platform
  • Enhance visibility across clinical & nonclinical areas—indoors and out
  • Streamline incident investigation with secure remote access for authorised users
  • Harden cybersecurity posture and meet NHS DSPT & GDPR obligations
  • Reduce capital and operating expenditure

Component 

Detail 

Cameras 

300 Verkada Gen 4 devices (Dome, Mini, Bullet & Fisheye) with onboard storage + cloud archive 

Management 

Verkada Command cloud—with RBAC, 2FA, SSO to NHSmail Azure AD 

Networking 

Cat6/Cat6A PoE structured cabling; dedicated VLANs & QoS for video traffic 

Retention 

30 days oncamera, 1year cloud archive for critical areas 

Integrations 

Milestone XProtect retirement; API links to Paxton Net2 accesscontrol & Genetec LPR 

  1. Collaborative Planning
    • Joint project board with SECAMB IT, Estates & Security, Verkada PS, and Cabling Services Ltd.
    • Baseline survey mapped 480 existing analogue & IP devices; 300 prioritised for phase 1.
  2. Pilot & ProofofConcept
    • Two-week live test at Banstead HQ—zero downtime cutover.
  3. Phased Rollout (OneSiteataTime)
    • Average 12 cameras/day installed.
    • Outofhours swaps in 24/7 control rooms.
    • Legacy kit quarantined for WEEE disposal.
  4. Cabling Upgrade
    • Reterminated of Cat6; replaced 100+ coax runs; validated to 10 Gb Ethernet.
  5. Training & Handover
    • Superusers certified; bite-sized videos embedded in SECAMB LMS.
  6. Change & Governance
    • DPIA & Cyber Risk Assessment signed off on before each site went live.
  • 99.99 % uptime since cutover; cameras remote access for real time support.
  • £120 k annual OPEX saving (maintenance contracts & energy).
  • Improved clinical safety—MakeReady area footage aids rootcause analysis of equipment issues.
  • Carbon reduction—cloud storage trimmed onprem server power by 7 MWh/year.
  • Futureproofing—additional camera licences in framework for the 2026 expansion.

“The new platform gives us immediate eyes on every station, without the overhead of babysitting recorders. Our security team can support crews faster and share evidence securely with police in minutes, not days.”
Head of Security, SECAMB

Lessons Learned

  1. Allow extra liftaccess time for ceiling void works in live clinical spaces.
  2. Prestage cameras in Command to cut onsite configuration to <5 minutes.
  3. Early engagement with Information Governance accelerates approvals.

Next Steps

  • Integrate Verkada Guest to streamline contractor access at MakeReady Centres.
  • Deploy Environmental Sensors (SV21) for pharmacy fridges & server rooms.
  • Explore AIbased anomaly detection to flag unauthorised vehicle movements.

Key Takeaways 

SECAMB’s migration demonstrates how a publicsector emergency service can consolidate disparate, endoflife CCTV estates into a single, secure, cloudnative platform—driving measurable savings while enhancing patient and staff safety. 

download South East Coast Ambulance Service case study

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