FEARS have arisen that Canvey’s own rapid response vehicle could be axed, causing longer waits for medical care at accidents and emergencies.

A whistleblower who works for the NHS has spoken to the Echo and warned that under the Ambulance Response Program, Canvey’s rapid response vehicle could become a double-crewed ambulance based off the island.

Canvey currently has one ambulance which deals with calls on and off the island and a rapid response vehicle which is “tethered” to Canvey.

There are fears that if the rapid response vehicle is removed from Canvey, the ambulance - which could be on the mainland - would struggle to reach any emergencies.

The whistleblower, who the Echo agreed to keep anonymous, said: “It is going to lead to longer response times to 999 calls.

“If you are on the point and need an ambulance because someone is having a stroke or heart attack, it it going to take it twenty minutes for it to get there - and longer during rush hour. From a medical point of view, someone should really be there in about five or six minutes.”

He added that volunteer Community First Responders - who are trained to attend serious incidents such as strokes - have also recently been told they cannot attend incidents involving children under eight.

This has been disputed by the East of England Ambulance Service which says it does not send First Responders to incidents for those under two.

He said: “If your child is five or six years old and they are choking, you will have to wait for an ambulance to get there because there will be no rapid response vehicle if this happens and first responders aren’t allowed to attend until the child stops breathing.”

A spokesman for the NHS said the rapid response vehicles were introduced to improve response times, but an ambulance was also often needed to get patients to hospital. Therefore the Ambulance Response Program, which is aimed at moving crews from rapid response vehicles into ambulances so there could be more ambulances, would be a good thing for patients.

Robert Morton, chief executive at the ambulance service said: “We are pleased that the national changes to ambulance standards are being introduced as they are in the best interest of patients.

“These changes give us a better ability to understand what the patient actually needs when they call, so we can send the right response first time.”