Castlederg: Loss of station a ‘disaster’, says MLA

Calls have been made for an ambulance station to be maintained in Castlederg amid fears the service could be relocated out of the area.

It is understood that plans to relocate the current station to another site in the town have been amended, and it will now be moved to either Strabane or Derry.

A local MLA has branded the proposal as a “complete disaster for Castlederg” that would leave the area with poorer ambulance coverage.

West Tyrone MLA, Maolíosa McHugh, said, “If the local station were to go, then there is no doubt, given the massive rural area it serves, that emergency response times will be delayed so much that lives would be further put in danger.”

The Sinn Féin assembly member says he has requested a meeting with the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) to discuss the “grave concern” surrounding the plans.

Cllr Ruairí McHugh, who represents the Derg DEA, said, “Many local outlying areas already experience among the worst ambulance response times in the north, so I dread to think of how worse things would get if our local station is relocated.

“Recently, we have also had to fight plans to downgrade the local fire station and it appears that we are going to have to battle to retain our local ambulance station once again.”

Cllr McHugh added that he intends to table a motion at a full council meeting later this month to the local authority’s support for the station’s retention.

The Strabane Chronicle has contacted the NIAS for comment.