THE Friends of Okehampton Community Hospital have voiced their concern at planned cuts to the town?s ambulance service which they say would prove ?disastrous? to the elderly population living rurally. At a meeting last week, the Friends expressed their concerns at the proposed cuts to Okehampton?s ambulance service planned between the hours of 2am and 6am and have subsequently written a letter to the chief executive of the Westcountry Ambulance Trust, Michael Willis. Friends chairman John Marvin said: ?It is often in the middle of the night when an elderly person so easily falls in the dark and breaks a limb. ?Paramedics, first responders, emergency care practitioners, they may all be there quickly and bring some comfort but that patient needs transport urgently and there can be no substitute for an ambulance. ?The expectant mother is in the same position.? The discussion followed a very busy meeting of the Friends that reviewed some of the events of the previous year, including the highly successful Christmas fair and draw which raised more than £1,000. It was agreed the annual meeting would be held on March 30, in the hospital at 7pm and that any interested members of the public would be welcome to attend, although without voting rights. It was hoped that more supporters could be found to get involved with the forthcoming patients survey and also the weekly trolley service provided at the hospital. The committee hoped a discussion might be held at the annual meeting on the out of hours GP service which was also the subject of some concern.