Sidmouth’s ambulance station has moved from its base at the fire station to a new out-of-town premises off the A3052 near The Donkey Sanctuary.
The ambulance service said the relocation was part of a £12million project to reduce waiting times across the south west, which involved a review of where vehicles and crews needed to be located.
A South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) spokesperson said: “The demand on the ambulance service and the nature of the calls we receive has changed significantly over time, and some of our stations are no longer located where we need them to be.
“Patients are not seen nor treated at ambulance stations, and our ambulance crews are rarely at a station.
“Our crews are much more likely to be attending to patients, at a standby point, or at a local hospital following a conveyance.”
The spokesperson added that the town centre site had become too small after an additional ambulance came into service for Seaton and Sidmouth area, and the new site was chosen as ‘the optimum location to cover the area more efficiently’.
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