MORE first-aiders would help save lives because ambulances cannot be stationed on "every corner".
That's according to the region's ambulance chief, Phil Milligan, who made the comments as he faced questions from councillors about response times in rural areas, First Responders and partner organisations.
A health scrutiny panel, chaired by North Lincolnshire councillor Jean Bromby, met to discuss East Midlands Ambulance Service's (EMAS) plan to overhaul the ambulance service.
As reported, the plans involve the service closing its 66 stations and replacing them with 13 new hubs and 131 tactical deployment points.
The panel raised serious concerns about response times in rural areas.
Chief executive Mr Milligan said: "One of the key issues for ambulances is prioritising call-outs according to the severity of illness.
"We will not starve any towns or villages of an ambulance service. We cannot as a system afford to put an ambulance on every corner.
"It will always be a challenge for us in rural areas. An eight-minute response is no good to someone who has had a cardiac arrest. That is why we need to train local responders to handle these situations while ambulances are en route.
"We have a separate programme looking at volunteers that will give us better performance on top of the other changes.
"Lincolnshire has the Lives scheme which is very good and we would like to support them in expanding further."
The panel was keen for a proper volunteer system to be introduced.
Speaking at the meeting, North Lincolnshire councillor Tony Gosling said: "I am concerned that volunteer guidelines should be in place.
"We should challenge EMAS to put in a robust procedure so that we know how many First Responders there will be.
"People need to know that if they live in rural areas they can definitely rely on a Lives First Responder."
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