North Wiltshire MP James Gray saw at first hand how Great Western Ambulance Service crews are coping in the current snowy weather when he spent Friday morning accompanying a crew responding to 999 emergencies. Mr Gray met GWAS staff and Chief Executive David Whiting at Malmesbury Ambulance Station before going out with a crew.

Mr Gray said: “The visit was an excellent opportunity to see at first hand the hard work of our ambulance service staff in Wiltshire. I was immensely impressed by the sheer professionalism, determination, caring yet unselfconsciously cheerful approach of all of the people I met. They do a great job on the ground and their dedication during the additional hazard of such difficult weather conditions was remarkable.”

“Yet I remain deeply worried that the amalgamation of The Wiltshire Ambulance Service with all of those from neighbouring counties into the Great Western Ambulance Service will not only do nothing to improve the service but will also have the effect of sucking our ambulances from rural Wiltshire into neighbouring urban centres. This was certainly the case on Friday.Clinical team leader Philip Green and Emergency Care Assistant, Gina Magor and I were summoned to pick up a sick gentleman in Bath and take him to the Bristol Royal Infirmary. It took us four hours all told, during which time Malmesbury’s sole ambulance was not available for local jobs.”

"And I am told that this happens all the time. The local ambulance takes people into hospital in Swindon, Bath or Bristol, and then gets a local job in those areas, often meaning that they do not return to Malmesbury for the entire day. I spoke up against the amalgamation at the time and I have to say that my experience on Friday precisely confirmed my fears. Like so much of our public services I saw brilliantly professional workers hampered by absurd, time-wasting and expensive bureaucratic practices. Bring back the old Wiltshire Ambulance Service, I say."

Mr Gray has written to David Whiting at GWAS to express his concerns. You can see the letter here.