MP fears de facto decision has already been made over Bedford ambulance call centre

Yesterday (Monday) evening, he met with Neill Moloney, the CEO of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST), to discuss the centre’s potential closure.

And despite the CEO saying no decision has been made, the MP was not reassured and has vowed to write to Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health, later this week

The East of England Ambulance Service Trust runs three emergency operations centres in Bedford, Chelmsford and Norwich and Mr Moloney confirmed the overall goal is to have two hubs in the Eastern region instead of three.

In a lengthy post on social media, the Bedford MP said despite the CEO insisting no decision has been made – and is unlikely until January at the earliest – he was not convinced. Though he did commit to reinstating staff at Bedford.

Mr Yasin said: “I made the point that the uncertainty is very stressful for staff, particularly at this time of year when Christmas is approaching and the demands on the service will be at their highest.

“Despite saying no decision has been made, it felt to me that a de facto decision has been made, when Mr Moloney confirmed that the overall goal is to have two hubs in the Eastern region instead of three.

“I said that it seemed obvious to staff which hubs they’ve chosen to invest in, because investment has gone into improving Chelmsford and Norwich while Bedford has been run down – though he did commit to reinstating recruitment at Bedford.”

Mr Yasin went on to say: “I am not convinced that closing down the best performing hub in the EEAST, with the loss of skilled and dedicated staff will lead to better outcomes for patients. Quite the opposite – the service is already hugely overstretched and underperforming with wait times for call pick ups and ambulances well below where they need to be.

“Despite being the smallest hub, Bedford picks up the highest number of calls. Any closure will therefore have a big impact on the wider region.”