New Oswestry community ambulance station opens
Oswestry’s new community ambulance station has opened at the town’s health centre.
The new facility, off Gobowen Road, went live on Monday 3rd December, replacing the traditional ambulance station in Morda Road which will be put up for sale in the New Year.
The new station comprises accommodation for ambulance crews with parking for ambulances and rapid response vehicles.
It is also the new home for the town’s team of dedicated advanced Community Paramedics who have been operating since the beginning of October, originally at the traditional ambulance station in Morda Road.
The team of five are based at the new community ambulance station round-the-clock; the first time the town has had its own dedicated emergency response team. And, trained to an advanced level, they can immediately assess and treat more patients who traditionally would have had to go to A&E for the same service.
One of the town’s Community Paramedics is Tony Hall, a local resident with 13 years experience within the ambulance service, including paramedic shifts with Midlands Air Ambulance based at Cosford.
Speaking of his new advanced paramedic role within Oswestry, Tony, 45, said: “For me it’s been a success. I have time to assess the patient fully and give them the medication they need. It is a more holistic approach to healthcare. From my experience 60% of the cases I go to don’t need to go to hospital. Fewer than 5% are emergency cases to hospital. People need to understand that there’s more to paramedics these days than just picking them up and taking them to hospital.
“This station is in a better location, in a better part of town to respond from. Being at the health centre, the minor injuries unit is here with X-ray facilities which we can refer our patients to. We have a good relationship with the minor injuries unit here.
“And Oswestry has more ambulance service cover now than ever before. In the past, if an ambulance crew was sent to a call they would have routinely taken the patient to hospital meaning we were out of the town for 2-3 hours whereas now, by treating more patients at home, we are away from the ambulance station for a much shorter space of time.”
