Mayor Antoni Joan Bertomeu and Sylvia Tatnell at a meeting earlier this year.

Emergency Service In Crisis

State of the art ambulances remain locked away standing idle as delicate negotiations continue over the future of a flagship emergency service on the Costa Blanca.
Crisis talks between Teulada Town Hall and the Red Cross are being held in a bid to restore a full 24 hour cover for Teulada Moraira and surrounding districts.
At present the Red Cross Station at Teulada only provides a weekend ambulance service – free weekday cover being substituted by a private ambulance stationed at the new Levante clinic in Teulada.

The ongoing stalemate has angered charity groups – including the Red Cross shops of Teulada and Benitachell and Teulada Moraira Lions Club – who have donated cash and high-tech equipment to support the service.
And many residents pay annual subscriptions to the Red Cross in Teulada to enjoy the peace of mind of having home addresses stored on computer and a rapid response to any emergency.

ALARM
However, people were urged not to panic as the Levante ambulance was providing full emergency cover and was accessible through the local police – and the national service would make a fast response by dialling a 112 alert.
And vulnerable residents who were issued with personal alarms have also been assured any call for help will be promptly answered.
Since 1999, when the military ambulance service was abolished, Teulada Ambulance Station was kept running with the town hall employing a driver and paying the expenses of Civil Protection volunteers to insure a 24 hour service.
It allowed much-needed emergency cover to be kept running for Teulada Moraira and many other communities at a time many other Red Cross stations were closed down after the famous international charity’s Alicante chiefs decided not to support an ambulance service.
Round Town News was told that the new Red Cross president in Teulada, Maria Valles, wants to change the arrangement with the town hall but the local authority cannot meet the new financial commitment requested by the charity.

BENEFIT
One angry resident said she felt everyone had contributed to buying and equipping the ambulances and should benefit from the service. “The community has paid for this service, the charity shops and the Lions have contributed lots of money, but the ambulances are now standing idle except at weekends.
“I do not understand why people are not up in arms – except many residents do not seem to appreciate what is going on.
“A lot of money seems to have been invested in this project but now it doesn’t seem to have benefitted the town.”
Asking not to be identified, she said it was understood the demand for more cash represented “a phenomenal increase” in council support.
And other residents asked what would happen to the vehicles and the equipment purchased by charities and the community at large.
It was also stated that while subscriptions were paid for an emergency ambulance, the money was available to be used by the Red Cross for all its projects.

SHAME
Sylvia Tatnell, councillor for social services, was unable to comment on talks with the Red Cross but said: “It is an awful shame things have turned out as they have. It was a wonderful scheme and it was running so well, people were very pleased with the volunteers working on it.
“The ambulance service was really a key (Red Cross) project in this area. Although the emergency 112 service has greatly improved over the last few years, people do have great confidence in their local ambulance service and I am sorry this situation has arisen.”
She explained that the new Red Cross president had asked for “a large amount of money” to keep the service running. “She did not want it to continue with a driver paid for by the town hall and the volunteers from the Civil Protection, she said she did not want them to work there anymore.
“The mayor has been in negotiations ever since and they are still not finished – we do not know what the outcome will be at present.”
And she said the council was not “obliged” to provide an ambulance service from the rates but “in the current economic climate it is even more difficult to meet the demands of the Red Cross.”

THANKS
However, the politician said: “I would like to thank publically all the people who have worked as volunteers in the Red Cross shops, the lions and all the associations who have donated something to the ambulance service.
“And also to the volunteers who have given their time to work for the service at the ambulance station.”
Maria Valles was unavailable for comment as Round Town News went to press.
+ In a current emergency, the Levante Hospital ambulance will transport patients to local clinics or the new regional health authority hospital at Denia. People with private insurance will be taken to the Levante Hospital at Benidorm.