West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust (WMAS) has confirmed it will be withdrawing a permanent rapid response car in Whitchurch to be replaced by an ambulance for north Shropshire, leaving councillors disappointed by the decision.

Rumours had been circulating in the town when it emerged the Trust had not renewed a tenancy agreement in Chester Road, where the car is stationed.

A WMAS spokesman insisted the move will see the number of staff working in the area doubled from five to 10 and follows the introduction by NHS England last year of a new strategy driven by a need to provide the right response for patients.

They added: “The substantial increase in demand for ambulance services means the amount of time our vehicles spend on stations and standby points has reduced substantially. Over the last six months, only about a third of cases in Whitchurch have been responded to from Whitchurch itself. Spending money on buildings which are seldom used does nothing to save lives. We would much rather use that resource to increase staff and vehicle numbers which is exactly what we are doing.

“We are also pleased that the funding of West Midlands Ambulance Service is to be independently reviewed with a particular focus on Shropshire.

“The introduction of the Ambulance Response Programme has seen real benefits for patients. A good example is stroke patients. By reducing the number of cars and increasing the number of ambulances, these patients are now getting to a hyperacute stroke centre more quickly reducing the number of patients being left with devastating changes to their lives."

Two of Whitchurch's Shropshire councillors, Peggy Mullock and Gerald Dakin, admitted they are disappointed by the news.

They said: "We are very unhappy that the town was not consulted on this major change to our medical service. We will be seeking answers from the relevant authorities.

"Having a service that is in the town for the town is important to us all in Whitchurch."

"We're aware of the points they have made about calls being answered by staff based in Whitchurch and we appreciate that, but we would have had greater appreciation if that had been communicated to us.

"Instead, we've had to wait on rumour which has worried and upset people who haven't been sure if their service is leaving the town or not.

"Time will tell if the decision to remove a permanent car from Whitchurch is the right one or not."