Health chief sheds light on timelines over future plans for Welsh emergency service

The Welsh Ambulance Service is working on a review of its rural service provision, which will inform future emergency response models and be key to the development of an updated bespoke road-based service for rural and remote areas.

Meanwhile, the Wales Air Ambulance Charity is making active plans to ensure continuity of the existing service while transition planning for a new base continues. 

This includes the possibility of extending current base arrangements in the short to medium term.

The Director of Commissioning Ambulance Services and 111, Ross Whitehead told a meeting of the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee this week it is expected that further clarity on timelines associated with the reconfiguration of the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service will be available during February.

The meeting was told that the NWJCC Chair, Chief Commissioner and Director of Commissioning met in December with representatives of the campaign group to listen to their concerns and to ensure their perspectives were fully understood. 

The meeting provided an opportunity to clarify the current position, outline the steps being taken by both the NWJCC and partners, and discuss how future engagement would be structured as work on Recommendation 4 is revisited.

Mr Whitehead said they are expected to meet again with the campaign group in March. 

He said he has asked the ambulance service to consider the broad rural provision not just the areas near the bases and they will go as far as possible to provide mitigation.

Alyson Thomas representing Llais, the public’s healthcare voice, said it is important that the public have transparency on the timetable and the approach being taken.

Philip Kloer, the chief executive of Hywel Dda University Health Board said they will want to understand the practicalities of how the service will impact on their localities

The NWJCC approved six recommendations from the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) Review in April 2024.

These included consolidating EMRTS bases at Welshpool and Caernarfon into a single North Wales site and exploring a bespoke road-based service for rural and remote areas (Recommendation 4).

A Task and Finish Group was established to develop Recommendation 4, involving EMRTS, the Welsh Ambulance Service, all Health Boards, and a regional representative from Llais. However, work was paused in March 2025 due to a Judicial Review challenging the NWJCC’s decision on base consolidation.

The High Court dismissed the claim in June 2025, and subsequent appeals were refused by both the trial judge and the Court of Appeal.

On October 15 2025, the Court of Appeal confirmed that none of the grounds for appeal were arguable and the case had no real prospect of success. 

With the legal process complete, NWJCC and partners were able to progress with implementation.

The NWJCC remains committed to Recommendation 4 with a renewed emphasis on aligning service proposals to current ambulance performance frameworks, system changes, and the NHS Wales context. 

Details of upcoming meetings and committee papers are published on the NWJCC website: www.jcc.nhs.wales