COUNCILLORS have voted to oppose any merger of ambulance trusts.

Community leaders fear the establishment of a Yorkshire and Humberside regional ambulance trust would draw resources away from rural areas of North Yorkshire to urban centres.

North Yorkshire county councillors this week agreed not to support the move.

The proposal is part of a Department of Health plan for 11 ambulance trusts to serve the whole country.

At the meeting, councillors were told it could result in longer ambulance response times to emergencies.

Councillor Blackie, who chairs the council's scrutiny of health committee, said: "There is indisputable evidence available in abundance to support the argument that a Yorkshire and Humber regional ambulance trust would lead to a gravitational pull of operational resources from rural areas like North Yorkshire to the more urban centres of population in the region.

"Seven years ago, we went through a merger of ambulance trusts when the North Yorkshire ambulance service joined with Teesside and East Yorkshire to form Tenyas.

"All the arguments to support that merger will no doubt be rolled out again this time, but our experience paints a different picture."

He added: "Will an ambulance trust based in the region deal as equitably with Rosedale as it might with Rotherham, as equitably with Whitby as it might with Wakefield, as equitably with Swaledale as it might with Sheffield, when it has all those important national targets to deliver on, targets that can only be met by concentrating operational resources on urban centres of population?"