A RE-ORGANISATION of ambulance services should benefit the residents of Herefordshire.

From the beginning of July a new division will serve Herefordshire patients and its neighbouring counties.

The new Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire division will manage these mainly rural areas and cater for their special needs.

The reconfiguration has evolved after Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service merged with Birmingham, the Black Country and Shropshire, and Coventry and Warwick Ambulance Services, to become one West Midlands Ambulance Service in July 2006.

Leading the newly formed division will be Derek Laird, currently the locality director for Hereford and Worcester.

"Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire are very similar counties in terms of geography, industry, agriculture, population and culture," Mr Laird said.

"The problems encountered in provincial towns and cities, in rural areas, and on rural roads are quite different to those problems experienced in inner cities and urban areas.

"Bringing these counties together under one umbrella allows us to spend more time concentrating on the special needs of patients in those rural areas."

He added that patients will still travel to the most appropriate hospital for their condition and there is not expected to be any impact on staff.

The decision was made at the West Midlands Ambulance Service Trust Board meeting held in Brierley Hill on June 25.