THE public are being asked to give their comments on a scheme to merge Surrey and Hampshire ambulance services.

A three-month public consultation has begun over proposals to modernise south-east ambulance services to give a faster service and maximise resources for patients' care.

The proposal could pave the way for the creation of three new ambulance trusts in the region covering Hampshire and Surrey, Kent and Sussex and Bucks,Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Speaking about the merger this week, Sue Braysher, the finance director and deputy chief executive of Surrey Ambulance Service, said that Surrey was "a very small organisation in the context of NHS trusts".

"Other trusts have budgets of up to £80 million, we have a budget of £20 million," she said.

"The time has come to move forward in terms of a bigger organisation with a better view of providing clinical care while maintaining the same standards," said Mrs Braysher.

"In Surrey we very strongly believe in the benefits of the merger and achieving the vision."

No decision has been made over the siting of a new control centre for the proposed new Hampshire and Surrey Ambulance Trust with the present Surrey headquarters based in Banstead.

West Surrey Health Authority has also said that there were no plans to relocate or reduce the number of ambulance stations as part of the consultation, although individual ambulance trusts may be reviewing their sites as a separate exercise.

In Haslemere, the ambulance station is set to move this summer from its current site in Grayswood Road to a new site in the grounds of Haslemere Hospital, which is presently being refurbished.

Jointly owned by Surrey County Council and Surrey Ambulance Service, the site of just over one third of an acre is thought to have been sold for around three-quarters of a million pounds to a housing developer.

The consultation exercise is being conducted by the South East Regional Office of the NHS Executive on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health, supported by local health authorities.

Arrangements for public meetings will be announced in due course.

The document outlining the merger plans is hoped to be made available soon on the Surrey Joint Consulation Website at http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/consult">www.surreycc.gov.uk/consult