Public meeting called after ambulance station closures confirmed

A public meeting will be held in Oswestry after the closure of the town's ambulance station was confirmed.

RETRANSMISSION - with corrected first sentence. .A London Ambulance worker wearing PPE cleans an ambulance after a patient is brought into St Thomas' Hospital in London as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Wednesday April 1, 2020. See PA story HEALTH Coronavirus. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire.

Oswestry Town Council has called the meeting following significant concerns expressed by local people over West Midlands Ambulance Service's review of community stations in Shropshire.

Last week the ambulance service said the Oswestry and Craven Arms bases would cease operations on October 4, one day after those in Bridgnorth and Market Drayton close for good.

Bosses claim stations are rarely used.

The closures mean all Shropshire crews will start and end their shifts at one of the ambulance hubs in Shrewsbury and Donnington.

A WMAS spokesperson said all staff had been informed and had chosen which hub they wanted to be based at.

The service said no consultation was needed as the changes will not result in any deterioration in response times or crew availability.

A spokesperson said: “This move will increase the amount of ambulance time available to respond to incidents, which will allow us to improve service.

"When a crew come on shift at a hub they get into an ambulance that is washed, cleaned, fuelled and has a standard load list on it. This is not the case for those on a community ambulance station (CAS) site.

“When they start, the crew have to check their vehicle to see what is on board. At some point during their shift, they have to drive to the hub to swap over their vehicle for a made ready vehicle.

“They also have to go back to their CAS point for meal break, and have to go back to the CAS point at the end of their shift."

Representatives from the West Midlands Ambulance Service will attend this meeting at 7pm on Monday, Septebmer 27, at the Wynnstay Hotel, Oswestry.

The meeting will be chaired by the Mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Mark Jones.

He said it would be an opportunity for elected members, community representatives and the public to hear from West Midlands Ambulance Service and also for the service to hear the views of the public.

"Please note that there is only space for 120 people in the room and these will be available on a first come basis, with doors open at 6.45pm," he said.

"We would respectfully ask that everyone wear a face covering."