Senedd told to keep Welshpool Air Ambulance Base open
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 yesterday, 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.
During the debate, Mr George told Senedd members: “When someone in Wales faces a medical emergency, it is only natural to wonder who will come to their aid and what services will be available upon arrival. This concern is even more relevant in rural parts of Wales, because of the time it takes for emergency services to travel to many communities, this is exactly why the Air Ambulance Service is so valued.
“The decision to close these bases is not supported by the two local health boards, tens of thousands of people across mid and north Wales, or clinicians themselves working from those bases. I've not had one constituent come to me to say they support this decision.”
During the debate, Health Secretary Jeremy Miles MS said: “I know that campaigners have fought through the courts in favour of keeping the current arrangements in place. The legal process, as has been acknowledged already in this debate, has now been fully completed, and this allows the charity now to work with the joint committee to improve outcomes for the people of Wales. It’s important to note that it is the joint committee, as has been acknowledged, that commissions the retrieval and transfer services, and they are responsible for this decision jointly with the charity.”
Following the debate, Mr George said: “Closing the Welshpool and Caernarfon bases is the wrong decision. In rural areas like Powys, where there is no district general hospital, minutes matter. Moving air cover further away will slow response times and risk lives.
“The Health Secretary is ultimately responsible for health services in Wales and should act as the final decision maker on such a significant and strategic issue - one that affects about a million Welsh people, across approximately half the geographical area of Wales.
“If the Welsh Government continues to support this dangerous decision, it must explain why it considers it acceptable for dozens of communities across Wales to endure slower emergency response times, and why increased unmet medical need in mid and north Wales is being tolerated.
“I’m grateful to the communities and campaigners who have fought so hard and worked tirelessly on this issue.”
Mr George has written to the Senedd’s Petitions Committee and asked them to set out what steps they now intend to take to hold the Welsh Government and NHS Wales to account on commitments made that no bases would close, until the Rapid Responses Vehicles promised were in place and operational.
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