Relief at new Bridgnorth ambulances after battle over timings
Two new ambulances are to be introduced in Shropshire, ambulance bosses said today. The high-dependency ambulances will be brought into the Bridgnorth area.
Their introduction follows a campaign by Bridgnorth resident Paul Passant and his family after his grandson suffered a blood clot and had to wait for more than for 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Thomas Passant, who was six-weeks-old at the time and is still in hospital, was eventually taken to Telford and then Birmingham Children's hospital on December 17 after the life-threatening clot was discovered in the upper atrium of his heart.
Mr Passant has since handed over a petition with 2,000 signatures to MP Phillip Dunne for Bridgnorth to get a better service.
Murray MacGregor, spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: "The trust has made a number of changes and two extra high dependency crews will be operating in the area, seven days a week.
"The extra crews will free up other ambulances to deal with 999 emergency calls.
"A review of the Shropshire area has led us to put Bridgnorth into a higher category. It is now a higher priority area."
Mr Passant, who was meeting senior figures in the ambulance service today, said he was pleased with how things were progressing. He said: "I feel things are moving in the right direction but the campaign has not stopped."
