Come to Hinckley plea to Ambulance Chiefs

The East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) are being urged to come to Hinckley to meet with local people concerned about plans to close Hinckley ambulance station.

Councillor Michael Mullaney (Lib Dem, Hinckley Trinity) is urging EMAS to hold a meeting in Hinckley to discuss concerns over their plans to close the town's ambulance station.

It is part of radical plans by the Ambulance Service to replace the 66 existing ambulance stations in the East Midlands with 13 new "Hubs. The nearest one to Hinckley would be Leicester. EMAS are planning to hold a consultation across the region later this year and Michael Mullaney is asking that they hold one in Hinckley.

Michael Mullaney said "I would urge the Ambulance Service to come to Hinckley and discuss with concerned residents, in detail, their plans to close the Ambulance station.

"Local people rightly see the ambulance station as an important local service and if they are to have to give it up they will need a lot of convincing that this is the right step.

"The idea that reducing the current 66 ambulance stations to just 13 "Hubs", including taking away Hinckley's ambulance station so that the nearest "Hub" will be in Leicester, will improve response times as EMAS claim, seems a difficult one to accept.

"If they come to Hinckley and show us all the evidence, with hard facts to back up their assertions that it will improve response times, then of course people will listen, but many local people I speak to will take some convincing that it will improve response times.

"I hope Hinckley will be the venue for one of EMAS official consultations on the changes.

"If however it isn't I and other campaigners are happy to book a hall, and organise the meeting ourselves if EMAS will send a representative to the meeting."

Cllr David Bill (Lib Dem, Hinckley Clarendon) is meeting with the Chief Executive of EMAS next week in Nottingham. Cllr Bill said "I will be raising with the head of EMAS the concerns local people have about their plans to close Hinckley Ambulance Station. I will urge him to visit Hinckley, or send one of his colleagues, to meet with concerned residents and explain the reasons behind these plans."