Late protest against ambulance plans
FURIOUS protesters have appealed to ambulance bosses to reconsider radical plans ahead of their possible approval on Monday.
More than 30 people, including paramedics and other staff, turned out to protest at the plans at an Amber Valley Borough Council scrutiny committee meeting at Ripley Town Hall last night.
East Midlands Ambulance Service is proposing to create one hub in Derby, at Raynesway, three stations at Chesterfield, High Peak and Ashbourne and 25 community ambulance stations, or posts, across the county.
The station closures were part of bigger proposals, changing the way the trust operates and also because it would cost £13 million to bring some of the region's stations up to "NHS standards".
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But Mark Hill, a paramedic based in Alfreton, said the plans had ignored Amber Valley.
He said: "Ripley, Alfreton, Belper and Matlock stations are going to close. Amber Valley gets nothing. A better situation would have been to have Ripley as a hub station."
Peter Ripley, EMAS director of operations, presented the plans to the committee and said the service had taken the criticisms on board.
He said: "The level of ambulance cover in the region will remain the same. We will be organising staggered shift patterns for staff to ensure this."
2 Comments
by DS999
Friday, March 22 2013, 4:44PM
“There are currently 16 stations in Derbyshire. EMAS commissioned a report which stated Derbyshire could be reduced to 5. However, EMAS pushed a 2 station model during its so called 'Being the Best' consultation which was widely branded as an irresponsible and dangerous sham. Campaigns sprung up as there was mass anger at this enormous cull of our stations. Unison organised a march in Ripley which around 200 people attended. Over 6000 signatures against the closures were signed from the Ripley/Amber Valley campaign alone.
At the end of the consultation, the Trust is now proposing 4 stations for Derbyshire. Unfortunately, whilst much better than 2, it is still a cull way too far. The Trusts own commissioned report said Amber Valley needs a station. So the campaign continues. EMAS staff, Unison and concerned local folk are now talking about stepping up the action to save Ripley station. EMAS must listen to the concerns of staff and communities on the ground. We will not allow our Ambulance service to be decimated in this way and we will not allow the people of Amber Valley to get a second rate service.
It is worth explaining something else which EMAS have been quite devious about. The 'hubs' (stations) are where the crews will start and finish their shifts. This means crews will inevitably be driven into the larger areas where there are more emergencies and will therefore leave the rural areas vulnerable. This was the main concern in the High Peak campaign and thankfully EMAS have seen the error of their ways and will have a station in the High Peak and one at Ashbourne. But what about Amber Valley? From Chesterfield to Derby there will not be a single station. Instead EMAS has re-branded its stand by points, which have been used for many years, from Stand by Points to 'Community Ambulance Points' and is now calling them 'Community Ambulance Stations'. The new Director of PR at EMAS is doing well isn't he? But the real sting in the tail is when you ask staff if they are ever on stand-by to which the overwhelming answer is 'no'. The reality is crews go from job to job. So the whole of the Amber valley will remain un-served until someone dials 999 and then they will have to wait longer which could prove fatal. But as the crews will have been busy in the larger urban areas it will look as though EMAS is hitting its performance targets. Now, where have we heard this before? A Trust in the process of becoming a Foundation Trust (so it can operate more like a business), desperate to hit 'targets'. I will give you a clue – mid-staffs.
What EMAS needs to do is drop this whole estates sham and concentrate on what is needed, getting the right amount of staff with the right qualifications to deliver the right level of care. Then we may see that EMAS is 'Being the Best'.
Good luck to staff, Unison and all those fighting this plan.”
by dovey
Friday, March 22 2013, 2:45PM
“Let's hope they listen, if anyone knows better to run the service efficiently are the front line staff, Paramedics, Clinicians, ECA's, Control alike.. not someone who sits on his backside pen pushing supping tea all day, perhaps they should swap roles for a day just to see how the frontline are run ragged....I personally think more frontline staff & ambulances are needed not Hubs..they are not going to improve the response times... just saying. I have great admiration for our ambulance staff. Keep your pecker's up!”