'Moving air cover further away will slow response times and risk lives' - Welsh government urged to keep Welshpool air ambulance base open
Montgomeryshire MS, Russell George, has urged the Welsh Government to intervene and halt the planned closure of Welshpool and Caernarfon air ambulance bases.
The Senedd Member has urged the Welsh Government to intervene to prevent the closure of the Welshpool air ambulance base, warning that moving a base further away from mid Wales will slow emergency response times and put lives at risk.
Speaking in the Senedd this week in a debate about a petition in support of retaining air ambulance bases in mid and North Wales, Mr George highlighted that tens of thousands of people have signed petitions opposing the plan approved by the NHS Joint Commissioning Committee - a committee within the Welsh NHS, and also pointed out that both Powys and Betsi Cadwaladr health boards, which together cover most of mid and North Wales, did not support the decision.
He also stressed that Powys has no district general hospital, making the rapid transfer to specialist critical care all the more critical.
Mr George reminded Ministers that the Judicial Review did not endorse the policy that included closing bases, it examined only the lawfulness of the decision-making process.
He added that so-called mitigation measures, including providing Rapid Response Vehicles for mid and North Wales - remain unclear and undelivered, despite assurances that no base would close until the additional emergency vehicles were in place.
