THERE will continue to be an ambulance based in Okehampton throughout the night following a U-turn by the Westcountry Ambulance Trust. A proposed change in shift patterns due to come into force next month would have replaced Okehampton?s 24-hour emergency ambulance cover with a rapid response vehicle between the hours of 2am and 6am. Last week, a Westcountry Ambulance Service NHS Trust representative came to Okehampton to discuss the changes with West Devon Councillors. But following a separate meeting between ambulance staff and executives last Friday, the ambulance service decided to amend its original proposals to safeguard overnight cover. The town?s ambulance crews will still see their shifts reduced from 12 hours to ten, but their new hours will be from 6am to 4pm and 8pm to 6am. Between 4pm and 8pm, there will still be provision for ambulance cover for the town. The new arrangements should mean Okehampton continues to receive 24-hour ambulance cover as well as 12-hour paramedic car cover. Mayor of Okehampton Cllr Tony Leech said it was ?very good news for the town? that the ambulance service had decided to look again at its decision. He said: ?We are a growing town and we need to be looking forward not backward.? Cllr Leech said he was pleased ambulance bosses had been able to make concessions to the 14 members of ambulance staff based in Okehampton ? as a result, the town seemed to have gained a paramedic car as an extra source of emergency cover. He said ambulance staff had told him the question of meal-time cover and a number of other issues still had to be resolved at a national level. Neil Gilmour, Mid-Devon PCT Patient and Public Involvement Forum representative for the Okehampton area said: ?I am very pleased that Westcountry Ambulance Trust has listened to the concerns of borough councillors and patients? representatives. It seems a reasonable compromise.? Cllr John Soul, who chaired the West Devon Borough Council overview and scrutiny committee meeting which discussed the issue last week, welcomed the trust?s decision. ?The committee is there to champion the causes of the community and it shows the ambulance service has listened to what people were saying,? he said. Cllr Leech said he was still determined to fight to keep Okehampton?s l Continued on page 3