A contract to provide manned guarding and monitoring services to the British Medical Association (BMA) at its headquarters in Tavistock Square in central London has been won by Axis Security. Six officers and a supervisor are responsible for providing 24-hour cover at BMA House, including carrying out patrols of the building, monitoring the access control, intruder alarm and fire systems, and acting as a first response in the event of an emergency.
Although the building has its own reception team in place to welcome visitors, the Axis officers are responsible for monitoring and managing other access: staff, vehicles, couriers and contractors.
Patrick Reed, Head of Security at BMA House, says that he looks for certain key criteria in a contractor: “We need companies with a proven track record and a high level of professionalism. In order to manage this highly prestigious building in central London, we require a reliable and efficient back-of-house security service that can also maintain a welcoming impression for all visitors and BMA members. Having nurtured a good relationship with members of the Axis Security management team for some years, I already knew I liked the way that the company operates,” he continues. “Its tender package combined quality of service with a competitive price.”
As well as serving as the head offices of the BMA, the building is home to other tenants and can be hired as a venue for weddings, conferences and seminars, so the Axis officers also have responsibility for guarding the building’s various entrances and providing event security when necessary.
“To date, both the management and delivery of the contract has been excellent, and looking to the future I see no reason why we would not continue to work with Axis Security,” Patrick says.
Jonathan Levine, Chief Executive of Axis Security, says: “I am delighted for us to be working with the BMA on such an important site and hope this is a relationship that will continue to prosper.”
BMA House is a Grade II listed building and has been the headquarters of the BMA since 1925. Originally founded by a doctor in Worcester, Sir Charles Hastings, as the Provincial and Medical Surgical Association in 1832, the BMA has now been representing doctors for 175 years.
