I attended North Lincolnshire Council's Scrutiny Committee hearing on Monday which considered the issue of the Brigg Ambulance which the East Midlands Ambulance Trust are proposing to replace with fast response cars instead.

The Trust confirmed that -

• The Ambulance was being replaced because of changes introduced by Government .reviews
• The Trust has received a 'significant' cut in funding this year and so was being forced to consider its resources very carefully.
• They would review the situation in 12 months time to assess the impact.

The Ambulance will be replaced by 1 x 24 hour fast response vehicle and 1 x 8 hour fast response vehicle. They also claimed that the area will also be covered by another fast response vehicle bases, oddly, in Ashby. There was also confusion as to when the change will come into force but it looks likely that it will be the end of this month.

Whilst I appreciate that Trust is only implementing Government recommendations, I do remain deeply concerned that the changes will mean that if an Ambulance is needed in the Brigg and Wolds area it will now have to come from much further away.

Many thanks to all those residents who have signed our petition against the cuts, I am hoping to present it to the trust shortly.