Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

Fears over future of Stratford Ambulance Station




Fears that Stratford’s Ambulance Station could be axed are fuelling growing anger about cuts to public services in the town.

Ambulance (50809455)
Ambulance (50809455)

Last week the West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that the future of its ten Community Ambulance Stations (CAS) was under review, with a spokesperson suggesting closure was an option being considered.

The service claims closing the station would have no impact on the level of service for residents, but the proposal has sparked anger among Stratford’s opposition Liberal Democrat councillors, who say Stratford’s public services are once again in the firing line.

The sense that town is losing out has been heightened in recent weeks by the temporary closure of Stratford Police Station due to staffing issues and worries over the future of inpatient beds at Stratford Hospital.

The Ambulance Service say that the station an ambulance is based at bares little relation to where it will attend incidents each day and that in Stratford’s case, the ambulance based in the town attends just five per cent of incidents locally.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We are reviewing the use of each of our Community Ambulance Stations (CAS) to make sure we're making the best use of all our resources.

“Ambulance crews are busy responding to one emergency after another and rarely, if ever, go back to the site except for shift changes and meal breaks.

“The ambulances based at the CAS sites are rarely there - only around 5% of the cases in the area are actually responded to by the ambulance based at the CAS site. The other 95% are responded to by ambulances that start and finish their shifts elsewhere.

“Should any changes be proposed, the Trust would talk to staff first.”

The spokesperson added that less journey time would be wasted by crews having to travel to and from Stratford ambulance station for meals or to clean the vehicle, while the service would be spared the expense of maintaining the property.

They added although residents may have an emotive connection to Stratford Ambulance Station, any closures would have no effect on the number of staff employed or the number of ambulances available in the region to attend incidents.

These arguments clearly don’t convince everyone though and Cllr Juned, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group at Stratford District Council has warned of the impact closure could have on our rural district.

“This is worrying news about a widely appreciated service, particularly in view of the efforts they have been making during the pandemic.” She said.

“Stratford seems to be a target for our public services when they're looking for cuts, possibly because it's a relatively small town, but this overlooks the huge number of visitors who come to the town each year and who also need support.

“The rural area and villages around Stratford also need services and the very nature of a rural area and the distances involved could have a detrimental impact if service bases are removed to distant towns.

“We're still waiting to hear about Stratford hospital and whether it will keep any inpatient beds. Cuts at Stratford Fire Station were successfully resisted and I hope we can do the same for the ambulance service.”

A spokesperson from Unison West Midlands, which represents ambulance workers, said: "We are concerned about the prospect of ambulance station closures and are questioning the need for such a review to take place now at a time that the ambulance service is bombarded with unprecedented levels of patient activity. Our members are working tirelessly to provide the very best healthcare for patients that they can and are doing so in very difficult and testing circumstances. We will work closely with the Trust on this matter and will oppose any unnecessary station closures."

Giving his view, Cllr Tony Jefferson, leader of Stratford District Council, said: “I think residents will always be concerned at the prospect of public facilities closing, but organisations do change and it would be remiss of them if they did not review their operations from time to time. I would like to see the full details and their logic before commenting any further.”



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More