Exclusive:'These are life and death situations' councillor warns as plans to sell three ambulance stations are leaked
“Everyone just wants to know they’re going to have someone there for them in their time of need”
Politicians have denounced leaked plans to sell off three ambulance stations which they say could affect response times for hundreds of thousands of Sheffield residents.
The Sheffield Liberal Democrats have started a campaign to oppose the sale, revealing that leaked information suggest Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) had put forward the plans without any intention for public consultation.
According to the Lib Dems, the plans would see the closure of Middlewood, Batemoor and Longley stations, with ambulance services consolidated in Attercliffe.
The suggestions line up with plans first mooted in January 2025, when YAS told Sheffield City Council’s health scrutiny sub committee that current stations were “no longer appropriate for the workforce” and they hoped to buy a new location within five years.
YAS bosses claim the new scheme would improve response times.
But councillor Sophie Crossthorn told The Star: “Generally we can tell that public confidence in our services and our councils and our governments is at an all time low and to have such major changes to our health service without public consultation is going to cause anxiety - particular for people in places like Totley, where this could move the main ambulance hub to over 11 miles away
“So for communities like that, this isn’t just a decision that could affect whether they can see a GP or not - these are life and death situations.”
Coun Crossthorn - who represents the Beauchief and Greenhill ward - said that concerned staff leaked this latest update online as YAS have yet to present more detailed plans to the council’s scrutiny committee.
In response, she has launched a petition to stop any closures until public consultation take place and says that more than 680 people signed it in the space of two days.
“People need to have that assurance and that say with a proper public consultation to be assured that these are going to be plans for the better and not the worst,” she added.
“Everyone just wants to know they’re going to have someone there for them in their time of need.
“If these are going to make things better then YAS should publicly consult, help and come out to communities like that to assure them that’s the case.”
When questioned by The Star, YAS said that these new plans would in fact reduce response times and follows a similar model practiced in other locations across the UK.
They clarified that ambulance stations are used mostly for preparation and staff support, with vehicles cleaned and repaired before being deployed to hospitals and ‘standby points’ across the city.
It is hoped that a new station will streamline the service’s preparatory work, while offering better facilities for ambulance staff.
A spokesperson said: “Yorkshire Ambulance Service has three ambulance stations in Sheffield that are in poor condition and weren’t intended for the large number of staff and vehicles currently operating from them, with our staff highlighting issues with parking, lack of facilities and overcrowding.
“Ambulance stations aren’t publicly accessible, but operational bases for our staff who start and finish their shifts there, with the majority of our staff dispatched to patients from hospitals or standby points across the city.
“Yorkshire Ambulance Service has the opportunity to bid for some funding for a new station which is only available if the trust is able to reach patients quicker. By locating vehicle preparation and cleaning, fleet services and staff in one location, ambulances will spend less time being unavailable, will be prepared and repaired more quickly, which will result in quicker response times to patients.
“This is a proven tried and tested model across other UK ambulance services.
“We have talked to our staff over the last few weeks about this new funding opportunity, started to brief stakeholders and have already discussed with Sheffield City Council’s scrutiny committee how to keep them updated on these early plans.
“Although changes to ambulance stations do not require public consultation, we want to keep stakeholders updated on how any changes would benefit patients as well as our staff, and welcome discussions with any stakeholders to explain these plans.”
Coun Crossthorn said that despite this response, many questions still need to be answered, such as where these standby points are located and whether rural communities will be properly covered.
She said that if the plans are going to make things better, YAS “shouldn’t have any problems” with public consultation.
“People are just worried about it, they want to understand it they, they want to understand the decision and why it’s being taken,” she added.
“But certainly for the south and south west of the city where you’ve got Middlewood and Batemoor ambulance stations at the moment - seeing those ambulance stations move all the way to Attercliffe to one single supersite near the arena, which we know has a lot of traffic and a lot of issues [...], they want to understand how this is going to make it easier for them and that if they need an ambulance an ambulance is going to be there.
“They just want to have some reassurance from YAS that this is going to make things better and that’s what we’re calling for - we just want these decision to be halted until they actually speak to communities, because communities must have a say.”