A PROPOSED brand new £1.9m ambulance station at Enniskillen failed to attract unspent funding in a recent reallocation of funds by the Stormont Finance Minister, Simon Hamilton.
However, the Ulster Unionist MLA, Tom Elliott, has vowed to keep up the pressure for funding, and he has written to the Health Minister, Edwin Poots for an explanation.
He commented: “The Department for Health deemed the ambulance station in Enniskillen as requiring financial investment to the tune of £1.9m, and placed a bid with the Department for Finance for this amount of funding.
“Regrettably, Finance Minister Hamilton has rejected the bid for the funding and we now find ourselves in a position of having an ambulance station requiring attention, but without the resources needed to undertake the work.”
The present ambulance station remains on site at the (old) Erne hospital.
However, two planning applications have been lodged for a brand new base further along the Cornagrade Road, on a site previously occupied by Tracey Kitchens.
If approved, the new station would accommodate up to 60 staff and 46 vehicles.
Tom Elliott, in a statement, said the public ‘can rest assured’ that he and his UUP colleagues won’t allow a need which has been highlighted to be discarded, particularly when it concerns such a vital service as ambulances.
“It’s important that this matter is addressed quickly and effectively.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the NI Ambulance Service confirmed it was working with the Department of Health on a business case for, ‘a modern, fit for purpose’ station.
He added: “The business case currently sits with the Department, and we await their response, re approval or otherwise’, he added.
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