THE fate of the Hampshire ambulance service still hangs in the balance after a decision over contentious plans to change the service was delayed until next year.
Hopes were high that health minister Hazel Blears would announce before Christmas whether the controversial proposals to merge Hampshire and Surrey ambulance trusts would be given the go-ahead.
However the Christmas holiday break in the Commons means that an announcement is now expected some time in the new year.
Hampshire Ambulance spokeswoman Liz Rees told The Herald that although an announcement had been expected by the beginning of this week a final decision has still yet to be made.
Controversy has surrounded the proposals put forward to modernise the ambulance services in the whole of the south east.
The hope is that a merger between Hampshire and Surrey would mean that the new ambulance trust would operate more efficiently and would prove to give a far better service to patients.
The South East Regional Office has recommended that the proposals should be rubber-stamped and the new-look service should come into operation in April 2002 but this in itself has been surrounded by controversy.
Although Surrey Ambulance Trust is backing the plans, HampshireÕs Ambulance Trust is opposed, fearing that the merger would be Òdetrimental to both residents and staff who are currently achieving rapid improvements in meeting targets for new standards in response times.Ó
Local health authorities are opposed to the merger and all community health councils in both Hampshire and Surrey have written a joint letter objecting to the plans, also expressing concern that response times will slip.