Mark Garnier, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Wyre Forest, has today express caution at the consultation document for reconfiguring the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) arrangements. Proposals being put forward are to take advantage of the merger of Staffordshire Ambulance Service with WMAS on the 1st October.
This comes a little over a year after WMAS was formed.
Currently, the two trust have, between them, 5 stand alone call centres (comprising a total of 62 operators) with 4 further back ups (giving an additional 24 operators). The proposals suggest a move to two principle centres, and a further support centre, with a total of 110 operators.
Mark Garnier comments:
"Broadly speaking, I welcome the Trust's intention to improve services and I applaud the management for using this opportunity to look more carefully at how the dispatchers work. But I am cautious at the reduction of the numbers of call centres and I worry that this is another step towards regionalisation.
"The centres will increasingly rely on technology to perform their function. This is not always the best way. In the last couple of years, there have been two occasions that I know of in Wyre Forest where a satellite navigation system has sent an ambulance to the wrong side of the river Severn to attend an emergency. On both occasions, the casualty had to wait up to an hour whilst the ambulance found its way back to the nearest bridge to cross the river and bring assistance.
"Local knowledge is very important in all sorts of situations and whilst technology can help in many predictable situations, it is with the unpredictable that we need the human touch.
"I will be working with my Conservative colleagues both at the county council and at the Parliamentary level to make sure the closure of the Bransford centre in Worcester will not result in unforeseen problems for Wyre Forest, and that the regionalisation proposals that will result in no call centre being in Worcestershire at all will not harm any local residents."