New ambulances hit the road in E Lancs

7:26pm Tuesday 22nd April 2008

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THREE new ambulances have hit the road in a bid to provide better levels of care for patients.

The vehicles, which feature a larger working area and time-saving satellite navigation equipment, were put to work on Monday and will provide essential cover for Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley.

Ambulance bosses said that it was decided to use the new ambulances in these areas because they were most affected by the closure of the accident and emergency department at Burnley General Hospital.

However, Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle slammed their introduction and said they would not compensate for the loss of A and E services in the town.

He said: "Three vehicles is not enough when people have to be taken to Blackburn where waiting times are longer, ambulance queues are horrendous and the set up is failing.

"We will continue to fight for A and E services to be brought back to Burnley."

The aim of the new ambulances is to improve the standard of care given by paramedics and technicians to seriously-ill or injured patients.

They will also allow state of the art medical equipment to be transported and have greater shock absorption to help patients with spinal injuries.

Satellite navigation systems, which only work on the ambulances and are useless if taken from the vehicles, and mobile data terminals have also been fitted.

Salman Desai, head of service modernisation at the North West Ambulance Service, said the vehicles were a real boost for patients.

He added: "These new ambulances represent a real step forward for us.

"Their introduction across East Lancashire can only help further improve the quality of patient care as we continue to modernise our service to serve the NHS in the 21st Century.

"Last year, we made a promise to the people of East Lancashire that we would invest in these new ambulances and I am delighted to say we have kept that promise."

The vehicles' launch comes at the same time as the Take Care campaign which was created in partnership with East Lancashire GPs, local NHS Trusts, NHS Direct and the North West Ambulance Service to raise awareness of the health care choices available in East Lancashire.

Take Care aims to ensure that people are seen by the right individual or team, at the right time and in the right place.