AMBULANCE chiefs have been accused of concealing the true costs of a merger.

A report has highlighted the need to spend £1.2m a year to bring the North-East Ambulance Trust service up to scratch.

The Durham and Northumbria ambulance services merged into the North-East Ambulance Trust two years ago, amid pledges the move would create savings which would go into improving patient care.

And earlier this year the trust said the merger had seen £500,000 extra put into front-line services.

But a consultant's report on the new trust's Patient Transport Service (PTS), which carries out non-emergency work, revealed it needs additional investment of £1.2m a year.

The bulk of the cash will go on control room staff and extra vehicle crews, extending out-of-hours work and providing more relief staff.

But the report also highlights the need to spend £90,000 on computer systems, after it emerged that the networks operated by the former Durham and Northumbria services were incompatible.

The report also highlighted the low morale of staff, particularly amongst the former Northumbria ambulance employees.

But Arthur Leman, the trust's PTS director, said the costs identified in the report were not a result of the merger but would lead to improvements in the service.

He said: "We have a significant impact on people's lives and if we can improve want we're doing it is going to improve people's lives."

He said the computer system used by the former Northumbria service was 17 years old and badly in need of replacement, an issue which was identified at the time of the merger.

Mr Leman said staff morale would be improved by the introduction of new planning systems but he rejected the report's suggestion that it was low.