Councillor Questions Ambulance Deployment Amid Protests

A Sandhurst councillor is seeking answers after South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) sent six vehicles to Gosport on October 4 for a protest, while some Berkshire residents reportedly faced long waits for emergency care.

Independent councillor John Edwards said residents were "rightly aggrieved" after around 350 protesters gathered near Haslar Marina, following reports a dinghy carrying 149 migrants was due to arrive.

He said he had heard of local people waiting hours for an ambulance, including members of his own family, and questioned what impact the deployment had on cover elsewhere.

Edwards said: "Residents are waiting up to five hours for an ambulance with chest pains. I've seen it happen to people close to me."

"That's the reality people are facing, so when they see a fleet of ambulances deployed elsewhere as a precautionary measure they are understandably asking questions."

He wanted to know what effect the operation had on response times, whether resources were diverted from frontline services and what the overall cost was. "People are already struggling under an overstretched NHS. They expect ambulances to be available when they have a genuine medical emergency," he added.

SCAS confirmed it deployed one frontline ambulance, three specialist Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) vehicles, a resilience support vehicle and an officer car to Gosport.

The trust rejected suggestions the vehicles were sent to provide healthcare for migrants, saying the operation formed part of established arrangements with police and other agencies managing public disorder. A spokesperson said: "All the resources provided on October 4 were part of established arrangements for supporting police and other partners managing public protests and to ensure appropriate emergency response capabilities are on hand should any injuries arise because of public disorder."

"HART crews are a dedicated resource over and above our deployment of ambulances responding to routine 999 calls."

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said about 350 protesters gathered near Haslar Marina on Sunday night, with incidents including flares being set off, scuffles with officers and the blocking of an ambulance route. Twelve people were arrested and the migrants were later taken to Kent for processing.

Home Office figures show 20,478 people crossed the English Channel in small boats between January 1 and October 5, 2026.

Katie French, Local Democracy Reporter