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 covered by both trusts – seven counties, stretching from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire to the Isles of Scilly – gave rise to fears among councillors on the GWAS joint scrutiny committee.

Their worries echoed those already raised by North Wiltshire MP James Gray.

At the joint scrutiny committee meeting, held in Chippenham last Friday, Ron Allen, a Gloucestershire County Council member, said: “We are closer to Carlisle than we are to Penzance. It will stretch our region alarmingly.”

Cllr Allen and others expressed concern at the performance of South Western Ambulance Service, based on new quality indicators.

They also questioned whether the link-up would benefit people living in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Avon.

However Wiltshire councillor Mike Hewitt said it was premature for people to make judgements on the proposed merger.

He said: “There’s a lot more work to do before we say we don’t like it.”

Liam Williams, the director of nursing at GWAS, said: “South Western Ambulance Service are a high performing organisation. We cover a large geographical area, as does South Western.

“I think the really important thing is a quality service; where our stations are and where our vehicles are on standby points.

“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 already sometimes attended incidents in Wiltshire when they were close to the county borders.

Both services will now undergo due diligence and talk to health regulator Monitor and the Competition and Co-operation Panel on the proposed merger.

Public consultation will be carried out, but the details have not been finalised. It is expected the merger will be completed by October 2012.

Ken Wenman will stand down as chief executive of South Western Ambulance Service to become interim chief executive of GWAS on November 1.

Mr Wenman said: “I am delighted to be working with GWAS staff, building on all their hard work over recent years and helping them to prepare for the future.

“We share the same aims and values and together our strong focus on improving care for patients will result in a service that represents high quality care for our patients and better value for money for our commissioners.”