A specially built "launch pad" for a rapid response vehicle at Keighley ambulance station is of no use, claims a report.

The ramp cost £13,000 to install but its value has been questioned in a hard-hitting document produced by the Patient and Public Involvement Forum (PPI) for Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

The criticism was one of many made by the PPI following a visit to the ambulance station, in Hard Ings Road.

In its report it states that members "question the need for the recently installed RRV launch pad, an expensive construction built outside the station which would appear to be of absolutely no use whatsoever". And the PPI claims that the rapid response vehicle - designed to reach the scene of an incident faster than a conventional ambulance - is "amazingly" used more as a back-up vehicle.

But Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) defends the vehicle and the launch pad, which it says has reduced the average activation time for crews responding to emergencies from 103 seconds to 25 seconds.

A YAS spokesman said: "For seriously ill patients this 78 seconds reduction is potentially life-saving.

"The cost of installing the ramp was £13,000, which we consider good value for money in light of the benefits to patient care.

"The launch pad is a dedicated outdoor area, usually used by rapid response vehicles, which allows staff to go direct from rest room to vehicle without going through the garage and waiting for the main doors to open and close."

The PPI report also claims that staff felt the service was more concerned about achieving response times than caring for patients.

But the YAS NHS Trust is adamant that patient care is at the top of its agenda and includes getting to patients with life-threatening conditions, wherever this is possible, within eight minutes.

Also criticised in the report is the stations lack of in-house laundry facilities, and the fact that the uniforms are not sent off for specialist cleaning at the hospital, which the PPI forum said increased the danger of infection of staff and their families.

The YAS however said that this is standard practice across the ambulance service.

A lack of staff ID badges, an outdated welfare policy, the fact that staff have to train in their own time and the drugs cabinet being left open were also noted as concerns in the report.

But the station was praised for the standard of its office and garage areas - described as "a credit to all on station" - and staff camaraderie and pride in their work was judged to be high. All the A&E vehicles were well equipped for the preservation of life and voluntary car scheme members were highly praised by the Patient Transport Service.