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Senedd Members have warned the closure of air ambulance bases in Welshpool and Caernarfon will create an “unacceptable patient safety vacuum”.

The Senedd debated a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a full public inquiry into Welsh Air Ambulance centralisation plans in rural Wales.

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas, who chairs the Senedd’s petitions committee, said campaigners took their fight to the highest courts in the land without success.

She told the Senedd: “A review… recommended closing the bases at Welshpool and Caernarfon and moving the helicopters to a new site in north Wales, near the A55.

“Supporters of the change say this would mean more emergency calls could be answered each year, but campaigners fear it will mean slower response times for certain communities.”

‘Dangerous’

James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, warned: “Let’s not go around the bush: Powys has become a health desert.

“We have a county with no district general hospital, no A&E department, minor injury units operating with limited hours and ambulances are consistently dragged out of our communities to cover shortages elsewhere in Wales.”

Mr Evans, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, said against this backdrop the decision to close the Welshpool air ambulance base is “not only irresponsible, it is dangerous”.

“Response times are already unacceptable and will only get worse,” he said. “Communities across mid and north-west Wales will experience slower emergency interventions.”

Mr Evans described plans to introduce rapid-response vehicles across mid Wales as a mitigation measure as “wholly inadequate”.

‘Harmful’

He warned: “Even worse, these vehicles do not even exist yet; there are no final plans, no costings, no procurement and no deployment timetables.”

The Conservative accused Welsh ministers of “washing their hands” by failing to intervene to prevent the closure of air bases.

Backing campaigners’ calls for a public inquiry, Mr Evans said: “That golden hour… cannot be a privilege just for those people who live in urban areas. It must be a right for everybody, right the way across Wales, no matter where they live.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid Cymru’s shadow health secretary, similarly stressed that people in Ceredigion and on Anglesey deserve the same service as any other part of the country.

Mr ap Gwynfor, who represents Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said: “There is no doubt that centralising the service, as is proposed, will be harmful to people in that area.”

‘Don’t buy the spin’

Russell George, the Montgomeryshire Senedd Member, emphasised that the judicial review examined only the decision-making process – not the moral or clinical merits of the policy.

He told the Senedd: “The people of mid Wales don’t buy the spin that some are peddling that this is going to be a better service for them. It’s not.

“Powys health board and Betsi Cadwaladr health board both voted against and do not support the decision to close these key strategic bases. It’s not supported by not only the two health boards but by tens of thousands of people and clinicians at the bases.”

Mr George, who sits as an independent, urged the Welsh Government to intervene or explain why people in rural Wales should endure slower emergency response times.

He said: “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 decision affecting over one million Welsh residents across approximately half the geographical area of Wales.”

‘Access to care’

Wales’ health secretary Jeremy Miles stressed: “The aim is to improve everyone’s access to care that saves lives. Quite simply, the current service cannot reach enough people who need support and the way that the service is organised is responsible for that.”

Responding to the debate on November 26, he said the crew in Caernarfon did not see a patient for 199 days in 2023/24, with Welshpool not seeing a patient for 163 days. “To all intents and purposes, that is a whole year without a single patient being treated,” he added.

Pointing to plans to improve nighttime coverage, the minister said the service was not able to get to 551 people who needed support in mid and north Wales between 8pm and 2am.

Mr Miles told the Senedd the courts scrutinised the lawfulness of the decision as he argued a public inquiry would duplicate scrutiny and not result in improved clinical outcomes. He explained a plan and timeline for mitigation measures will be published in early 2026.

In a symbolic vote, which does not bind ministers, the Senedd voted 24-20 to “note” the 10,437-name petition – with five Labour backbenchers abstaining.