Air ambulance to stay until March
27.08.07
The County Air Ambulance is to remain at East Midlands Airport until next March, it has been announced. Health bosses had planned to move the helicopter from the airport and have it fly from a base in Staffordshire by the end of the year. A local MP and fund-raisers had expressed concern over the move, saying lives could be put at risk if response times were affected.
West Midlands ambulance bosses, who work with the charity the County Air Ambulance Trust to run the air ambulance, say the helicopter will stay in Leicestershire for a few more months to ensure cover of the area does not suffer. East Midlands Ambulance Service says it has almost reached a deal with two other ambulance charities who can provide cover for Leicestershire after March, but it is unclear whether it will be based at East Midlands Airport.
A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: 'As a final decision is still not known, we have given a guarantee that we will carry on flying in the meantime.'
Harborough MP Edward Garnier, who has publicly backed the air ambulance, welcomed the news. He said: 'I'm pleased that the service from East Midlands airport has been extended to next March. At least we now have until March to work things through.'
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