Wednesday 21 March 2012

Worries over transfer of Stretford Ambulance to Salford

Messenger

The North West Ambulance Service wants to close the dilapidated Stretford ambulance depot and run services from Greater Manchester Police’s Talbot Road station half a mile away.

But union officials have hit out at the proposals, saying they could have an impact on response times. Under the plans, one of the station’s two ambulances will move to Talbot Road and the other will go to Salford ambulance station.

Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, said: “While I can understand the wish to make best use of the trust’s estate and the rationale for co-location with the police, I am very concerned about the effect on service.

“This comes at a time when there is considerable uncertainty about the future of emergency provision here in Trafford and when there has been no public engagement or sharing of information regarding the decision to transfer an emergency ambulance to Salford.”

Mike Cordingley, a Gorse Hill councillor and vice chairman of Trafford Council’s overview and scrutiny core committee, added: “This news is very worrying and I’m urgently requesting more details.

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