New proposal for East Midlands ambulance stations

A revised proposal on the future location of ambulance stations in the East Midlands has been released by the region's ambulance service.

East Midlands Ambulance Service is considering replacing its 65 stations with 11 large hubs, 16 stations and 108 smaller community ambulance stations.

A final decision is expected later in March.

Earlier proposals had suggested 13 ambulance hubs and 118 smaller community ambulance posts.

The ambulance service ran a public consultation in 2012 on the future of its infrastructure, but faced strong local opposition to the reduction in the number of ambulance stations.

The new proposal, which emerged after the 2012 consultation, would mean some of the stations earmarked for closure would remain open.

East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) said the proposal would allow paramedics to "get to patients sooner".

EMAS held a series of workshops where it consulted staff, councillors, union representatives, patients and other people about the changes.

Under the new proposal, the 11 hubs would be located at Chesterfield, Mansfield, Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Boston, Grantham, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Kettering and Northampton.

The 16 stations would be located at Grimsby, Gainsborough, Louth, High Peak, Worksop, Skegness, Newark, Eastwood, Ashbourne, Sleaford, Ashby de la Zouch, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Market Deeping, Market Harborough and Hinckley.

The hubs would be larger than existing stations and would contain maintenance facilities.

The smaller community ambulance stations would only contain rest facilities - with some located in existing GP practices or fire stations.