Petition launched to save Paignton ambulance station

Hundreds of people have put their names to a petition which aims to save Paignton’s ambulance station

The site on Totnes Road is owned by St John Ambulance and is used by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWAFT) as a base for its own ambulances.

The 999 crews respond to emergencies from locations across the local community, but they start and finish their shifts at the Totnes Road base. Four ambulances can be accommodated there.

The lease on the building is due to end in September and is not being renewed.

A ‘Save Paignton Ambulance Station’ petition has been started by former Torbay Conservative MP Kevin Foster and is being hosted on his website.

He said: “With no confirmed plans to relocate the ambulance station, its resources or staff to an alternative site within Paignton, significant concerns about potential impacts on local response times, especially during the busy summer season, are being raised.

“Within a few hours of the petition being launched, hundreds of people had signed it.”

A spokesperson for SWASFT said: “We lease the site where Paignton ambulance station is located, and we were recently informed by our landlord that they intend to sell the building.

“We have not been given a confirmed date of when we need to vacate the site, so we are currently looking at alternative arrangements.

“Our ambulance resources respond to patients from within the community, rather than from a station, which means they are better located to help support the needs of all residents across the region.”