A CHARITY providing first aid and emergency medical coverage to Powys residents insists it is doing “everything possible” to find a resolution after the service was suspended suddenly last month.

The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) confirmed earlier this week it has mutually agreed to temporarily pause St John Ambulance Cymru activity in Rhayader and the surrounding community until “operational matters” can be resolved.

The decision was announced on September 29 and is thought to originally only be in place for a month.

St John Ambulance Cymru has been active in the Rhayader community for around 80 years and has been operating in conjunction with the Rhayader First Responders scheme, based in town, since 1999.

Locally, people are furious with the decision, with the decision labelled “ill thought out”.

St John Ambulance Cymru has issued a response, saying it is aware just how vital the St John Ambulance Cymru alternative responder scheme is to the town and surrounding area and are committed to resuming the service as quickly as possible.

“Both organisations are committed to the quality of the provision of ambulance services to the communities of Wales,” said a spokesperson for the charity.

“We are currently working together on some operational matters and to do this the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust has asked, and we have agreed, to temporarily break the response from the Rhayader St John Ambulance station.

“We would like to reassure you that we are doing everything possible to find a resolution. We are confident that we will have a resolution by the end of the month, when it is our expectation that our alternative responder team will once again be responding to emergency 999 calls in Rhayader and the wider community.

“WAST have assured us that they have put in place alternative support during this period through Community First Responders and Mid Wales & West Fire Response Service, who continue to support WAST teams to respond to 999 calls across Powys.

“We know how important the St John Ambulance Cymru alternative responder team is to Rhayader and the surrounding communities and we understand that the fact that the service is currently not being provided by our St John Ambulance Cymru volunteers is causing serious concern.

“We want to reiterate that during this time, we continue to support local events and the wider community through first aid cover, demonstrations and training, and are committed to getting the alternative responder team and service back up and running as soon as possible.”

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

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

The town council said it had been assured this was not a response or clinical issue, nor a complaint.

The Powys branch of the Liberal Democrats has called for commitments for the response service to remain in place.

Rhayader county councillor Angela Davies, a Lib Dem member, is calling on residents to make their views known to the Welsh Ambulance Service by voicing their concerns on the WAST website, at https://www.ambulance.wales.nhs.uk/Default.aspx?pageId=20.