Stockport Labour Group has asked the Council to consider extending local bus lane exemptions to support ambulances for planned care appointments, following a request from staff at the North-West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

Ambulances can currently use Stockport’s bus lanes on the A6 when attending an emergency, but not for more routine appointments, which leads NWAS vehicles to lose time in traffic.

Labour Transport Spokesperson Councillor Dean Fitzpatrick said ‘A small change to our local transport policy could have quite a big operational impact of the NWAS, especially if other Local Authorities follow suit.

‘I think that allowing support ambulances to use Stockport’s bus lanes when transporting patients to non-urgent care appointments, and when returning to the ambulance station after a call-out, is a proportionate and sensible change.

‘The vast majority of local people will understand the reasons for this and will be supportive of anything which assists the NWAS in doing their vitally important job.’

Whilst no fixed penalties have been issued by either the Council or the Police to ambulances in Stockport, there is no formal policy which allows NWAS to use local bus lanes, and the NWAS UNISON Branch believe this may act as a deterrent for drivers when transporting non-emergency patients.

Coun. Fitzpatrick added ‘Extending bus lane exemptions to include ambulances on non-emergency business should increase the efficiency of the ambulance service, improve the speed of service for non-emergency calls, and provide a more comfortable experience for patients.

‘If every Local Authority implemented a transport policy which supported NWAS in this way it would make a big impact on planned patient care. At the moment we have a patchwork of rules across Greater Manchester which are unclear for drivers, patients and the wider public.’