‘No firm plans’ to close ambulance stations (From York Press)

‘No firm plans’ to close ambulance stations

10:00am Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

AMBULANCE bosses in our region have denied they are making plans to close stations across Yorkshire or make York a “hub” for emergency vehicles.

Rod Barnes, executive director of finance at Yorkshire Ambulance Service , dismissed reports the service was planning a cull of ambulance stations, opting to pool vehicles at a number of ambulance hubs with others stationed at standby locations or even sharing stations with other emergency services.

York was among one of the areas singled out as a possible hub location while the ambulance station at Scarborough was one of those facing closure.

The plans appeared on the agenda of a recent meeting of the ambulance trust, but managers said the scheme was only under consideration and nothing would go ahead without a staff consultation.

Mr Barnes said: “We would like to dismiss these claims and reassure members of the public that there are no firm plans in place to close any of our ambulance stations.

“We are simply planning for the future to ensure that we continue to meet the needs of our patients and the requirements of a modern ambulance service.

“The trust is looking at the possibility of introducing a ‘hub and spoke’ model in some more urban parts of the county but no firm plans have been discussed or approved at this stage.”

He said patients’ interests were at the heart of everything the service did and any plans to change the configuration of ambulance stations would have to support the service’s ability to “continue to deliver the highest quality” and ensure a “safe and responsive service to those calling 999 in Yorkshire and the Humber”.

He said: “We would also like to reassure members of the public that any plans to change our estates configuration would be subject to consultation with staff and stakeholder organisations.”