Representation by East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust )
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2020
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) provide accident and emergency services and non-emergency patient transport services across the East of England, including Leiston, and raise a HOLDING OBJECTION to this application for a development consent order (DCO), for the following reasons. Review of the Environmental Statement (ES) and related DCO application documents indicates a lack of recognition of EEAST - as both a key health service provider and emergency service, who form an integral part of a ‘Health & Blue Light Partnership Working Group’ with the Suffolk & North East Essex CCG’s, Suffolk Constabulary and Suffolk Fire Service. The level of engagement and scope of joint technical work with EEAST is therefore deficient at this stage. As a result the ES is considered to be; ? INCOMPLETE - as it omits any assessment of the impacts arising from a coronovirus pandemic (such as Covid-19) on health partner service capacity: The transport modelling for Abnormal Indivisible Loads (AIL’s) is also insufficient from an emergency response perspective; ? LACK ROBUSTNESS - as the ES assesses the risk of a pandemic as ‘minor’ which is not borne out by the evidence of infection, urgent care referral & health service impacts associated with the current Covid-19 context; ? INSUFFICIENT - in its proposals for mitigating & managing the impacts arising on EEAST’s staff, fleet & estate assets which would need to provide for increased service delivery as a result of the development; ? INCONSISTENT - with aspects of Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy (EN-1), National Policy Statement for Nuclear Power Generation (EN-6), the National Planning Policy Framework, & Suffolk Coastal Local Plan; ? ADVERSE SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS - are not therefore sufficiently ‘avoided’ ‘reduced’ or ‘compensated’ & sustainable development is not fully delivered by the proposals at this stage; In view of this, including the serious overstretching of EEAST and health partner resources, and ongoing service implications as a result of the current Covid-19 pandemic, an EXTENSION OF TIME is required to work with EDF Energy before the Preliminary Examination Meeting, to address the areas outlined above and below, to; ? Scope the work required to assess how the development can avoid, reduce or compensate for the effects of a coronavirus pandemic on the health and emergency services; ? Scope the additional AIL modelling work required to determine the likely impact on EEAST (& other health/ blue light partners) emergency & non- emergency response times; ? Scope the level of additional EEAST staff, fleet & estate assets (& additional health & blue light resources) required to mitigate the impacts arising from the development, including any ‘Covid-19 specific’ impacts; ? Establish appropriate Terms of Reference & Membership - for a Transport, Health & Wellbeing Group to advise on the funding, resource & infrastructure measures necessary, to adequately mitigate the impact of the development (both non- Covid & Covid 19 specific) on service provision by EEAST & its health & blue light partners. Please see attached