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ARCHIVED - Blow for Calpe as bid for extra emergency services ambulance is rejected
The need for additional ambulances in Calpe in the Marina Alta comarca of Alicante province has been deemed "unnecessary".
Calpe has been dealt a blow after a request for additional ambulances was rejected and deemed "unnecessary" by the Valencia region's health ministry.
A letter was sent to the ministry in May highlighting the need for extra emergency services in the coastal municipality on the Costa Blanca, which has a population of around 29,700, of which 1,670 are British expats.
But the local authority this week received a response it "was not expecting", when the regional government rejected the calls, stating "we consider that it is not appropriate to increase the number of ambulances and the resources of the health emergency service".
It was pointed out that there are currently seven Basic Life Support (BLA) and SAMU emergency response ambulances in situ in Calpe's health department, and a 12-hour Vital Basic Support (SVB) vehicle with staff was introduced in neighboring municipality Teulada - 3km away - in January.
But Calpe council has argued that three vital factors have been ignored - the fact that the nearest hospital is in Denia which is 34 km away, that the population surges during summer months and that 50 per cent of residents live in urbanisations "outside the urban core".
"The resources are often stretched, the health service in Calpe is in a precarious situation and instead of offering solutions the regional government considers that it is not appropriate, which is discriminatory and shows a complete ignorance of the reality in this municipality," it was added.
The local authority is now seeking legal assistance "to find a solution".
Data shows that between January and May, the emergency services in Calpe were deployed 1,046 times - around seven assistance calls a day.
IMAGE: Ayuntamiento de Calpe