Warwick ambulance station to be sold as part of a new plan

The hub in Tournament Fields - where dedicated teams of ambulance fleet assistants and mechanics prepare, service and maintain the fleet of ambulances - will be open 24 hours a day. The traditional station in Montague Road, which will continue to be used until a new community station is found for Warwick, is being marketed at £375,000. When completed, the Warwick hub, along with another in Coventry, will serve a network of 19 community stations in Coventry and Warwickshire, which will be leased rather than sold. There are already community stations in Canley, Kenilworth, Stratford, Wellesbourne Airfield, Southam and Alcester and within fire stations in Atherstone, Leamington, Nuneaton, Binley, Foleshill, Bedworth and in Radford Road in Coventry. As well as in Warwick, community stations are still to be set up in Rugby, Coleshill, Dordon and Shipston. A spokesman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service, which manages all land ambulance services in Warwickshire, said: “By being smaller, lower maintenance and therefore lower cost than the ambulance trust’s traditional stations, there can be more of them to further improve response times. “The current level of ambulance cover in Coventry and Warwickshire will be maintained, but the ambulance service provided will increase overall with the introduction of community paramedic teams.” Community paramedics undergo additional training in advanced patient assessment and procedures. The spokesman said: “They will be able to treat many more patients at the scene rather than them being conveyed to an accident and emergency department. “In addition to responding to 999 calls, the role of the community paramedics will be to liaise with other areas of health and social care and ensure the population they serve receive the best health service possible, while ensuring the ambulance service through 999 is used appropriately.” This new system of hubs and community stations is known as ‘make ready’ and was introduced in Staffordshire 15 years ago. The county’s ambulance service now has some of the fastest response times in the country. The system is expected to be introduced in Warwickshire later this year.