Cuts to the number of ambulance call centres in the West Midlands have been reluctantly welcomed by leaders from the two towns where there will be new headquarters.
Ambulance chiefs look set to axe two of the five existing centres – with bases to remain in Stafford and Brierley Hill and a support centre in Leamington Spa.
Under the proposals there would be a new home at Tollgate Business Park in Stafford, following the proposed merger between West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust and Staffordshire Ambulance Service.
County Councillor Len Turner said it was a shame the merger was going ahead but the inward investment to the new centre at Stafford would be a good thing.
“I cannot see how anybody could consider it bad news for Stafford,” he said.“If we have to have a centralised unit for Staffordshire – which it seems we do because they have forgotten the meaning of democracy – then I would welcome it.”
“I would rather see us keep our own ambulance service. There may have been one or two corners that wanted polishing off a little bit but in the main the service was working fine and if it ain’t broke, why fix it?
“Having experienced the ambulance service personally in the last few weeks I can say it is fantastic what they are able to do.”
Rachel Harris, councillor for Brierley Hill, said she was pleased to see the Brierley Hill call centre at Millennium Point would not be affected. “It is a very important part of the Waterfront trading area and for the town of Brierley Hill as a whole,” she said.
“I am pleased it is not one of the centres earmarked for closure.”
The proposals will be discussed by ambulance service chiefs in a board meeting at the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill on Monday at 10am. There will also be a three-month consultation period with the final decision to be taken at an extraordinary board meeting on October 9.
The trust says the merger plans would see a significant boost for patients with the use of more clinicians and new technology to see calls answered faster and patients receiving help more quickly.
The changes would also involve putting in place measures to cope with any “catastrophic failure” of services and to deal with major incidents such as a natural disaster or terrorist incident whilst maintaining the normal 999 system.
The trust said that despite the changes to the emergency calls centres, which employ 260 staff, there was a commitment to no redundancies.
Some staff may be transferred to another centre but frontline ambulance staff would be retained in their existing operational areas.
The service will get almost £3 million by selling bases in Stone Road, Stafford, Abbey Foregate, in Shrewsbury and another at Bansford, near Worcester. But the outlay on the new centre along with improved systems will set the trust back just over £2.5million.
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