Legal bid to stop Welshpool air ambulance base closure

Campaigners opposing plans to close two Wales Air Ambulance bases are planning a new legal bid to block the move.

Bosses want to close the helicopter bases at Welshpool, in Powys, and Caernarfon, in Gwynedd, and open a new unit in north Wales which, they say, will allow them respond to more incidents annually.

Opponents, who lost a High Court case in June to block the closure of the Welshpool base, are hoping the Court of Appeal will now allow them to challenge that decision.

But the Wales Air Ambulance Charity said it was “deeply concerned about the attempts to delay an improvement that will save more lives across mid and North Wales”.

It said between 2023-24 there were 632 emergencies in mid and north Wales that “would have benefited from an air ambulance response” but that it could only get to 81.

In comparison, it said its service in south Wales had attended 983 emergencies in the same period which “clearly demonstrates the inequity that we need to address”.

Opponents branded the High Court ruling “incredibly disappointing” as they were concerned closing the Welshpool base would lead to a delay in response times in some places.

“A further appeal has now been made and the Court of Appeal will decide whether to grant permission for that appeal to proceed,” they said.

“From the outset we challenged the facts and reasons for change and questioned decision makers why they find it acceptable that 40 communities will receive a slower service, and why it is reasonable to accept an increased unmet need in mid and north Wales.”

Welshpool-based medic Dr Stuart Gill has previously said that the air ambulance was “not a primary responder”, unlike paramedics and the Welsh Ambulance Service.

“Not everybody has an air ambulance based in their region but they still have access to our service when we are operational,” he said.