A DECISION to suspend a vital emergency response service that has served a Powys town and the wider community for 80 years has been criticised.

Rhayader Town Council has described the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust’s (WAST) choice to halt St John Ambulance Cymru provision in the town for a month as “ill thought out”.

St John Ambulance Cymru have been active in the town for 80 years and in 1999 the Rhayader First Responders scheme was started – earlier this year volunteers received long service and special recognition awards at a ceremony at the Rhayader base.

The WAST confirmed it has mutually agreed with St John to temporarily pause their activity in the Rhayader community until “operational matters” can be resolved.

Locals are furious with the decision, with Rhayader Town Council saying in a post on their Facebook page that Rhayader St John have been “asked to stand down and are not to attend 999 calls”.

The council said St John Ambulance Cymru had confirmed the closure – which came into force on September 29 – in an email sent to county councillor Angela Davies and mayor Dai Davies.

“This decision HAS NOT been made by St John themselves, but by the Welsh Ambulance Service,” said a town council post.

“This decision by the Welsh Ambulance Service appears ill thought out and something we as town and surrounding areas need to address immediately. Rhayader St John really make a difference to the community, being in a rural area to not have St John being able to take 999 calls could prove to be fatal.”

St John is understood to be currently in the process of renewing its contracts with the Welsh Ambulance Service, but there have been reports of some undisclosed issues with the Rhayader branch.

Rhayader Town Council said it had been assured this was not a response or clinical issue, nor a complaint.

The Powys branch of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has called for commitments for the response service to remain in place after news of the suspension broke.

Councillor Davies is calling on residents to make their views known to the Welsh Ambulance Service by voicing their concerns on the 'Putting Things Right' section of the WAST website, at https://www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk/Default.aspx?pageId=20.

Lee Brooks, director of operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “We are currently navigating some operational matters with St John Ambulance Cymru and have mutually agreed with St John to temporarily pause their activity on our behalf in the Rhayader community until these can be resolved.

“Both the Welsh Ambulance Service and St John Ambulance Cymru are committed to service resumption as soon as possible and I am confident this is achievable.”

St John Ambulance Cymru has been approached for comment.

The community first responder service has rapidly grown to become a lifeline for locals across Radnorshire and indeed Powys. In 2021 alone, the Rhayader branch responded to a massive 570 emergency calls, which they're on track to exceed in 2022.