Ambulance Base to be kept in Hinckley say East Midlands Ambulance Service
Campaigners fighting to save Hinckley's Ambulance Station have welcomed news that the East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) now support keeping a station in the town.
EMAS have today published their final recommendations for the future of the Ambulance Service in the East Midlands. Entitled "Being the Best" it sets out plans to have 28 Ambulance Stations and Hubs in the region including an Ambulance Station in Hinckley.
Last Autumn EMAS proposed to close Hinckley Ambulance Station along with 65 others in the region. It prompted a huge outcry in the town.
Cllr Michael Mullaney, the Lib Dems Parliamentary Spokesman for Bosworth, who launched a petition to save the Ambulance Station and organised a public meeting to save it in the town said "This is really good news.
"I'm glad that EMAS have listened to local people and now support keeping an Ambulance Station in Hinckley.
"The population in the Hinckley urban area, including Barwell, Burbage and Earl Shilton is one of the biggest in the County and is growing. Add to that all the villages, like Stoke Golding, that are close to Hinckley and it is clear that there is a big population that needs to be serviced by an Ambulance Station."
Cllr David Bill (Lib Dem Hinckley Clarendon) added "This is one occasion where people's voices have been heard. We need an Ambulance Station in Hinckley and I'm delighted that our campaign to keep one in the town has been a success"
The EMAS report will be voted on at their next Board Meeting on March 25th.
The full set of papers including the "Being the Best Report" can be read later at the EMAS website www.emas.nhs.uk/about-us/trust-board/
The EMAS Board will meet on Monday 25th March at 10am at the Kings Mill Hospital, Sutton in Ashfield, NG17 4JL to vote on the report.