Almost 850 people have signed a petition to save Alston Moor’s dedicated ambulance service.
The online petition was launched on Friday by the Save Our Ambulance campaign, after it was revealed that the North West Ambulance Service was planning to remove the vehicle.
Alston Moor has had a dedicated service for 47 years.
A campaign spokeswoman said: “We have been informed that NWAS have taken the decision to remove the ambulance from Alston Moor.
“This will happen before winter and the ambulance crew will be made redundant therefore leaving the newly recruited first responders without any support for at least an hour.
“We need the ambulance because of the unique rural setting we live in, for response times from Penrith or Carlisle can be anything from 40 to 60 minutes often much longer, our ambulance can be on scene within six to 15 minutes.
“In critical life-threatening situations these response times are crucial to saving lives.
“Without our local ambulance that we have had for 47 years potentially lives will be lost.”
NWAS’ head of service for Cumbria and Lancashire, Gene Quinn, said: “Due to national changes regarding the skill level and training legally required for emergency medical technicians (EMTs), NWAS has had no choice but to modify the operational model for the Alston area.
“NWAS has recognised the commitment of the local community team, who currently provide the resource, but the reality is that they are not trained to a high enough standard to be able to maintain a reliable, safe operating model, which puts themselves, patients and NWAS at risk.
“In the past, the training was offered to the team but due to other commitments, they were unable to take this on.
“Because the team don’t have these necessary qualifications, it is not appropriate or safe for them to operate a trust ambulance.
“We know the area is challenging in terms of accessibility, which is why we have considered a range of options, taking into the account the suggestions from the community, and are working to put in place a safer and more sustainable service.
“This will include community first responders with enhanced skills and a wider clinical scope who can provide safe and effective treatment to patients while an ambulance is en route.
“We are working with the local clinical commissioning group and local nurses to achieve this.”
The petition can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/nwas-save-alston-moors-ambulance
