Closure date for 999 centre

Worcestershire's ambulance control centre will close on Monday despite a campaign to keep it open.

The death-knell for the emergency operations centre at Bransford, near Worcester, was sounded today when officials announced it would shut from 7am on December 1.

All calls and dispatch of vehicles across Worcestershire and Herefordshire will then be handled by the control centre at Brierley Hill. Staff at Bransford have been transferred to other jobs within the service.

The move follows the decision of the West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust Board last year to move to a new integrated system using three centres across the region at Brierley Hill, Stafford and Leamington Spa.

Campaigners petitioned against the proposals, claiming it was vital for control centre operators to have local knowledge.

But the board decided to go ahead with the closure and today officials said it had become clear the change was needed to protect patient safety.

Trust chief executive Anthony Marsh said: "We have been working towards this point for a considerable period of time but didn't wish to announce it until we had found an employment solution for each member of staff.

"No-one is being made redundant. Staff will be moving to a variety of other positions within the trust."

Mr Marsh added there will be a dispatch desk in Brierley Hill dealing exclusively with vehicles in Worcestershire and Herefordshire staffed by workers transferring from Bransford.

Mr Marsh also said vital minutes could be saved in responding to incidents near county borders, because dispatchers would no longer have to phone another control room to find out which vehicle was closest to the scene.