CONCERNS about Great Western Ambulance Service merging with South Western Ambulance Service have been expressed by councillors from across the region.

Last Friday both ambulance trusts confirmed they were stepping up their work towards a merger.

But the huge geographical area of both trusts – seven counties stretching from Gloucestershire to the Isles of Scilly – raised fears among councillors on the GWAS joint scrutiny committee, echoing concerns already raised by North Wiltshire MP James Gray.

Gloucestershire county councillor Ron Allen told the committee meeting in Chippenham: “We are closer to Carlisle than we are to Penzance. It will stretch our region alarmingly.”

Coun Allen and others expressed concern at the performance of South Western Ambulance Service based on new quality indicators and questioned whether the link-up would benefit people living in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Avon.

But Wiltshire councillor Mike Hewitt said: “There’s a lot more work to do before we say we don’t like it.”

Liam Williams, director of nursing at GWAS, said: “South Western Ambulance Service is a high-performing organisation. We cover a large geographical area, as does South Western. I see the two organisations coming together to achieve consistency and having that critical mass will make it easier to achieve.”

The meeting was told that South Western ambulances sometimes attend incidents in Wiltshire close to the county borders.

Ken Wenman will stand down as chief executive of South Western Ambulance Service to become interim chief executive of GWAS.

Both services talk to health regulator Monitor and the Competition and Co-operation Panel on the proposed merger. After public consultation, it is expected the merger will be completed by next October.