Pupils at risk from 999 calls says Shrewsbury headteacher
The safety of hundreds of children who go to school near a new £1.2 million ambulance station is at risk, a headteacher has warned.
Candy Garbett, headteacher at The Priory School in Longden Road, Shrewsbury, has spoken out after a pupil was involved in a 'near miss' with an ambulance at a pedestrian crossing near the school.
The youngster was crossing Longden Road yards from the school when an ambulance answering a 999 call drove through a red light.
West Midlands Ambulance Service bosses said the ambulance involved in the incident had been going at 10mph or slower.
But officials did admit the number of emergency calls being answered from the Longden Road hub, which opened on January 14, had been 'higher than we would have expected'.
Ms Garbett said ambulances are regularly answering emergency calls for the new hub at Abella Business Centre off Longden Road, despite assurances prior to opening that it would be mainly used for maintenance and repair work.
But Ms Garbett said ambulances are responding to emergencies using blue lights as much as ten times per day from the hub – putting the hundreds of children who attend nearby The Priory and Meole Brace schools at risk.
"There are 2,000 children on Longden Road every day. That is half the children aged between 11 and 16 years old in Shrewsbury. It is just the wrong place to put an ambulance hub."
Chris Kowalik, communications officer for the service, said: "An investigation was launched by West Midlands Ambulance Service after a crew reported a 'near miss' incident. The findings were that the ambulance approached the pedestrian crossing at no more than 10mph.
"One pupil, who was wearing earphones and apparently unaware of the oncoming vehicle, despite blue lights and sirens, stepped into the road in front of it. Due to the care being taken by the ambulance crew, it was able to stop.
"A blue-light response from the hub should be the exception and only on receipt of an emergency call in the immediate surrounding area where the nearest available resource is at the hub and, morally would rightly be sent.
"Unfortunately, during the first few weeks, the number of blue-light responses have been higher than we would have expected."
