Plans to merge two ambulance services to create a single organisation covering the whole of the South West have taken a step forward.
The bid by South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust to acquire the ailing Great Western Ambulance Service has cleared the penultimate hurdle.
The final decision is now in the hands of the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt.
If given the green light, the new organisation will serve 5.3million people when it commences operations on February 1, 2013.
The possibility of a merger was raised more than a year ago when the service which covers Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, threw its hat into the ring to merge with neighbours GWAS.
The organisation, which serves 2.3 million people in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and what used to be Avon, had been in the doldrums for a number of years and consistently ranked as one of the worst in the country.
Ken Wenman, chief executive of both organisations, said the merger was based on "a real confidence that it was in the best interests of patients, staff and taxpayers".
"Over the past year, the proposals – and accompanying business case – have rightly been subjected to rigorous scrutiny by a range of external bodies, as well as by the trusts' boards," he said."It is reassuring that at no stage of the process have there been any concerns that the partnership should not proceed and we are now looking forward to receiving final approval from the Secretary of State."
