health champion for the Forest of Dean, Cllr Craig Lawton (Con, Oxenhall and Newent North East) is calling for the reinstatement of Newent ambulance station to be explored.

The call follows what Cllr Lawton describes as ‘extremely concerning’ response times in some parts of the district released to him by South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) under the Freedom of Information Act.

He said: “Residents in our most rural areas wait almost three times as long for an ambulance as those in Gloucestershire’s towns and cities and Newent, Dymock, Lydney, Mitcheldean, Hartpury and Tidenham regularly see average response times above ten minutes. The average response time in March for Newent was 22 minutes - that’s almost three times as long as the NHS target.

“Only Cinderford residents, within the same postcode as the Dilke Memorial Hospital and the district’s ambulance station, can expect to see target response times met.

“This is extremely concerning. I am surprised that only residents with life threatening emergencies living very close to the local ambulance station and hospital can expect to see paramedics regularly arrive within the eight minute target.

“Until 2006 Newent previously had its own ambulance station, which shared space with local fire services at their station on Bridge Street.

“For a town like Newent, which is so close to Gloucester, to have to wait such a long time for an ambulance in an emergency is something that needs to be addressed.

“I think re-opening the station in Newent is an option that should be explored further.”

SWASFT told Cllr Lawton, that it was “important to note that national performance targets are for the whole trust and are not commissioned at individual or sub Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area levels like postcode zones.”