Councillors are worried at the plan to leave Rugby with just one ambulance at St Cross - here's what they are going to do

Medical staff and residents told councillors they were worried that Rugbeians would suffer
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Rugby Labour councillors have written to the NHS and submitted Freedom of Information requests over concerns at the news that Rugby will be left with one dedicated ambulance.

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A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) confirmed this, and said the cut would not impact on the safety of Rugbeians.

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Labour councillors said they have since been contacted by residents and medical staff who fear that Rugbeians will be affected.

Labour group leader Cllr Maggie O’Rourke (Benn ward) said: “A number of Rugby’s residents and medical staff have raised serious concerns with us about response times to emergencies, and changes to the way ambulance services are now being delivered.

"We have previously called for an ambulance hub to be based in Rugby at full council [see bit.ly/2INrpSR], and we have written directly to the Clinical Commissioning Group who hold the budget for this.

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"They also monitor targets and complaints on behalf of the residents of Rugby.

"We are extremely disappointed to report that there has been no response from them so far.

"We are now sending them a number of Freedom Of Information questions, so that we can plan our next steps in this.”

"There has been a massive growth in Rugby’s population, yet provision based in the town has been reduced.

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"All Category one and two (the most serious categories) calls go to Coventry - so Rugby’s emergencies are vulnerable to what’s available from Coventry’s already overstretched hub, which is too far away.

"It simply doesn’t make sense.”

The Freedom of Information questions focus on a number of key issues, including emergency response times, handover times at UHCW, the number of times Coventry and Warwicksire ambulances are diverted to Birmingham and neighbouring counties, comparative mortality rates between Rugby and Coventry emergencies, the kinds of complaints received and the amount of compensation paid out of the last five years as the result of delays in ambulance provision.

Cllr O’Rourke added: “If the answers to these questions aren’t satisfactory, or we continue to receive no answer, we will organise a public meeting and ask the people of Rugby to campaign with us to hold those in charge accountable.

"If necessary, we will pursue a Judiciary Review.

"This government and our local MP were elected in December pledging to put more money into the NHS in Rugby and it is vital that we hold them to that.

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"Further reducing our local health services in Rugby is the exact opposite of what was promised in the General Election."

“I have asked the West Midlands Ambulance Service for an urgent explanation of this decision and for confirmation that patient outcomes will not be affected by this change.

Rugby MP Mark Pawsey previously said he was concerned about the plan, adding that he would be calling on WMAS to confirm that patient outcomes would not be affected.