Unanimous council backing over push to secure rapid response vehicles following Mid Wales' air ambulance closure decision
A council has unanimously backed a call to push for pressure over rapid response vehicles promised as part of a controversial decision to close Mid Wales' air ambulance base.
Powys County Council voted to back the motion brought by Independent Welshpool Councillor Graham Breeze and Elwyn Vaughan, Plaid councillor for the Glantwymyn ward.
The motion, which calls on the authority to pressurise Welsh health boards and Wales Air Ambulance to honour a promise to provide additional rapid response vehicles in Mid Wales ahead of the closure of Welshpool Air Ambulance base, went before last Thursday's council meeting.
The proposal, which was unanimously backed, said that in light of the Judicial Review decision, and the judgment made, council calls on the health boards and Wales Air Ambulance to work together and with communities in ensuring that the promised commitment for rapid response vehicles (RRV) is fully implemented before the closure of Welshpool base.
Councillor Breeze said said he was pleased at the backing for the proposal.
He said: “I am delighted that the motion received unanimous support.
“We all know the decision to close the Welshpool air ambulance base was a bitter blow for rural Wales.
"But as councillors we had a responsibility to ensure the promises made to mitigate that decision are delivered because Powys lives depend on it.
“The promise was not an optional extra; it was a condition integral to the judicial review that allowed the closures to proceed. Without these vehicles, rural communities will be left dangerously exposed.
“Let’s be clear about the stakes. Powys has no district general hospital. When a cardiac arrest or major trauma occurs minutes matter.
“The air ambulance was our lifeline. Now, the only way to maintain equity in emergency care is to ensure these RRV - fully equipped with critical care capability - are deployed quickly and strategically.
“The Wales Air Ambulance charity, as part of their justification for the base closures identified an existing unmet need where the service was unable to get to 922 patients a year. They argued the changes will mean they can reach an extra 139 patients a year.
“The reality is that those missed calls will be here in Powys. The proposal simply switches the unmet need from North East Wales to Mid Wales. And without the rapid response vehicles the number of missed patients here in Powys will grow even further.
“Like lots of other things affecting Mid Wales - we don’t seem to matter. So it’s our duty as councillors to make it clear, Mid Wales lives do matter.”
