HEALTH Minister Lord Howe visited Crow Country last week to open the new ambulance station in Melbourn.

he purpose built facility will respond to emergency calls in the local area, and also act as a training and education centre for paramedics.

It will also be home to the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), who are specially trained to have the skills and equipment to help patients that could be trapped dangerous situations.

Visiting the centre, Lord Howe said: “Over the last few years a series of disasters have shown that emergency preparedness is extremely important and that we do have to have facilities to cater for that type of incident.

“We need to make sure that there are personnel that are trained to the highest standard to deal with those situations.

“I’m delighted to see first hand how the HART paramedics operate and the excellent services they provide to patients, often under very difficult circumstances.”

The total cost for the facility was around �10million pounds, and 42 people will call the station their workplace.

Hayden Newton, chief executive of HART, said: “This development has only been made possible by the significant investment made by the Department of Health in new premises, state of the art vehicles and equipment, extensive training and selection, and the appointment of 42 paramedics who form the dedicated HART team.

“The Trust is extremely grateful to Health Minister Lord Howe who attended the ceremony yesterday and officially opened this excellent facility.”

The opening of the station included a demonstration of how to save a person trapped in a building, a blessing of the building by the trust chaplain, and the unveiling of a plaque by Lord Howe.