The decision to close Oswestry’s community ambulance station is a ‘slap in the face’, campaigners have told a public meeting.

The station, which is operated by West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS), is set to close next Monday, October 4, along with three other sites in the West Midlands with ambulances starting an ending their days at two hubs in Shrewsbury and Telford.

Lawrence Chapple-Gill and Sian Tasker launched a campaign group aimed at postponing the closure to allow for a consultation to be held, and gathered more than 3,250 signatures on a petition.

“I lay a lot of the fear among people at the door of WMAS, because if we’d had a meeting like this earlier, then those concerns, issues and fears could have been raised and dealt with," Mr Chapple-Gill told the meeting at the Wynnstay Hotel.

“It’s almost like a foregone conclusion. While it is great to see everyone here and on Zoom, I think that’s had an impact on why some people haven’t bothered to come tonight because they think it is a done deal and that we’re not being listened to."

Mr Chapple-Gill added that a map provided by WMAS in 2019 to the Shropshire Health Scrutiny Committee, showed only two areas in Shropshire hit their response rates for category one calls – and they were the only areas with their own hubs.

He said: “Over the years, Oswestry has lost the district hospital, maternity unit, most NHS dentists, ShropDoc, out of hours GP visits and First Responder rapid response vehicles.

“We have a minor injuries unit which closes at 6pm, and now we’re about to lose this community ambulance service which is a decision that is opposed by the people it affects, but made by people it doesn’t affect at all.

“It’s simply not good enough and feels like a slap in the face for Oswestry.

“WMAS say our concerns are not based on fact but are based on supposition and a fear of the unknown.

“That is the fault of WMAS who failed to properly inform, failed to constructively engage and failed to meaningfully consult.”

Oswestry resident Steve Wilcox echoed calls for a proper consultation period, telling WMAS representatives: “You must have a detailed business plan with all the facts and figures in that you’ve quoted, and some of these are very confusing.

“I urge you to make this business plan available so that we can see it.

“You need to give us some time to consider that business plan, so therefore I ask for a postponement for at least three months.”

Emma Pierce asked whether the closure would open up more funding to provide Community First Responders for the Oswestry area, and shared her own experience of waiting for an ambulance.

She said: “We all know if you can’t get an ambulance, hopefully the paramedics are going to come to you – but if they’re not coming either, what’s going to happen?

“My dad had a stroke in Welshpool and waited four hours for an ambulance and by the time he got taken to Telford Hospital, he couldn’t have the medication to disperse the blood clot.

“My worry is that could be replicated in Oswestry now.”

Former Cambrian Surgery GP Peter Barling raised issues over the management of the service and asked for an explanation of the current triage system in place.

After the meeting, he stated that he believes the service could be improved in a more efficient way.

He said: “There was no consultation on this process and I don’t believe that the management of the ambulance service is particularly good.

“They didn’t give an accurate assessment of their triage methods. They glossed over the subject of not just the response time for getting to a patient’s home, but also getting the patient to hospital.

“For situations like a stroke or a heart attack, these are very critical.”