999 bosses sell Shropshire ambulance stations

Two ambulance stations in Shropshire are to be sold off as part of a shake-up of the service costing £7 million, it was revealed today.

The stations in Bridgnorth and Tweedale in Telford will go on the market tomorrow, ambulance bosses said.

Tweedale Ambulance Station in Cuckoo Oak Green will be replaced with a new facility at Cuckoo Oak Industrial Estate.

The ambulance station is going up for sale for £150,000 while Bridgnorth Ambulance Station in Innage Lane will be replaced by a community ambulance station within the town's police station in Tasley Bank.

The ambulance station will go up for sale with offers invited in the region of £110,000.

The changes involve the creation of two fleet maintenance 'hubs' at Donnington Ambulance Station, which has been refurbished, and at a new base to be confirmed in Shrewsbury.

Chris Kowalik, West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesman, said the cost of running Bridgnorth ambulance station, including utility bills and rates, was £21,000 a year.

While at Tweedale, where there is a training centre which will be moving to the new Shrewsbury station, costs nearly £46,000 a year.

He said the savings made on the buildings would be channelled into the frontline ambulance service instead.

Mr Kowalik said: "The whole ethos behind what we are doing is we are transferring the money from areas which don't affect patient care to areas that do."

"For a tiny fraction of the cost we can have a low maintenance and low costing but good accommodation for our staff and more of them across the county. The bricks and mortar don't safe lives. What saves lives is the ambulance crews and ambulances."

The trust said the current level of cover would be maintained, but the service provided would increase overall with community paramedic schemes in Bridgnorth and Tweedale. The changes are expected to be in place this autumn.