Special council meeting over plans to scrap Swanage ambulance car
A Dorset councillor claims "feelings are still running high" as concerns grow about ambulance cover in Swanage
Last updated 3rd Sep 2021
Dorset Council may hold a special meeting to discuss proposals for changes to the ambulance car service in the Swanage area – when health officials start a public consultation.
Councillors were told this week that there is still no news about the date when the consultation by the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group will begin, or how long it might last.
Chair of the council’s people and health overview committee, Cllr Andrew Kerby, said he and others had been ‘inundated’ by messages supporting the car continuing to be based in the town.
He said it would be wrong to come to any conclusion before the official consultation started but had been assured that the service would continue as it now is until any decision was made.
“We are a consultee, not the people who decide the fate of the ambulance car and we must be careful not to be seen to predetermine the issue,” he said.
Cllr Beryl Ezzard told the meeting that feelings were still running high in Swanage about the possibility that the service might be withdrawn and called for a task and finish group, or a special meeting, to be set up once the consultation started.
“It’s all a bit worrying. We don’t want to miss the chance to have a debate about it,” she said.
Cllr Kerby promised that either of the options would be arranged once the consultation started.