18 Jun 2023
Have ambulance crews been unable to easily reach patients due to accessibility issues caused by St Albans’ controversial city centre road closures?
That is the suggestion made by St Albans residents following two medical emergencies around the city’s pedestrianised zone.
The latest incident was on Saturday afternoon at around 3.15pm, when an ambulance attending an emergency call in George Street was unable to get past the closure barrier and was stuck outside Thai Square. Paramedics had to walk down the road with a stretcher to reach their patient.
Previously on May 27, as reported in the St Albans Times, a woman collapsed in Hobbs in Christopher Place, suffering from a heart-related condition.
The ambulance called to the scene was faced with the closure of High Street, and paramedics were forced to park outside the HSBC bank in Chequer Street and continue on foot.
They were then unable to push her through the market on a stretcher, so they had to bring the ambulance around to the White Swan and transport her aboard.
The closures of High Street, George Street and part of Verulam Road were originally introduced by Herts county council in the wake of the first Covid lockdown to allow for social distancing measures.
Although the closures were temporarily lifted, they returned at weekends in October as part of an experiment into pedestrianisation which also saw Market Place, Spencer Street and Upper Dagnall Street permanently closed throughout the trial.
Traders in High Street and George Street have been given licensable areas which can be used to set up tables and chairs or stalls. But to ensure the emergency services have clear access, a 4m wide channel must be maintained through High Street and a 3.4m wide channel must be maintained through George Street while the streets are closed to motorised traffic.
County councillor Annie Brewster, who has been active in highlighting any concerns surrounding the closures, reacted to the recent ambulance access problems: “The potential of the street closure pilot scheme to delay emergency services response times was the major concern of the district council’s overview and scrutiny committee before the trial took place. We were assured drivers of emergency vehicles would have access to the correct codes to get through the barriers at all times. An urgent review is required so this will never happen again.”
But Herts county council has refuted any suggestions that the road closures have hampered emergency services.
A spokesperson said: “We have discussed these incidents with the East of England Ambulance Service, and they have confirmed that they haven’t had any issues reaching patients and there wasn’t any impact on the patient care.
“Emergency access is, of course, an important part of the road closure design, and we have been working with EEAST to ensure that ambulance crews have the codes to open the gates if necessary.”
