THE mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Mark Jones, has thrown his support behind trying to keep an ambulance presence in the town.
He joins residents who are calling for a base to stay at the Cambrian Medical Centre, off Gobowen Road, following an announcement that it is under review last week by West Midlands Ambulances Service (WMAS).
Cllr Jones believes the town is under served by WMAS currently, and believes some fears needs to be allayed.
“Obviously we want a quick service, don’t we?” said the mayor.
“It’s imperative as the service levels we have got at the moment for Oswestry aren’t good enough.
“But it’s not so much about the service levels but the times it takes the ambulances to the patients isn’t good enough.
“The worry is that if the ambulances have people from other areas then perhaps they might not know where some of our locations are.
“It’s the case that an ambulance might not be coming to Oswestry from within the town, but the people who are doing the study obviously think that’s already the case.
“They think they’re improving the service but whether that’s the case, we’re waiting to find out.”
Cllr Jones said he and his colleagues at both local and unitary level will be hoping to play a part in maintaining a base in the town in the coming weeks.
He added: “We haven’t discussed it yet, as a council, because we’re in summer recess and it was the first we’d heard of it last week anyway.
“I think it will be on the agenda in the coming weeks and I know that various people have been talking about launching a petition.
“I know that it’s being discussed at Shropshire Council – Councillor Dean Carroll is trying to, as they’re looking at closing a few.
“I think the recent examples of people waiting for an ambulance shows we need one in the town.
“Oswestry is a big town in Shropshire and we lost our original proper station many years ago, that used to be based in Morda Road.
“I don’t how many are actually stationed at base at the Cambrian.
“It would be helpful to have one in town but to be honest, once that is used and out on the road it’s not available.
“I know they have paramedics on the road but the job is changing and we do need a better service than what we’re getting.”