Second Wales Air Ambulance meetings in Powys in the autumn

Following 14 weeks of public meetings, drop-in sessions and surveys, the first part of the public engagement on the future of the NHS’s Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) - the specialist teams who make up the Wales Air Ambulance - crews has ended.

The first phase, which began in March, “focussed on listening to comments, queries and gathering of feedback on how to develop options to further improve the air ambulance service in Wales” and finished the end of this week after the end of the final online feedback.

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Stephen Harrhy, the Chief Ambulance Services Commissioner who is running the review, thanked the public and stakeholders for their participation and emphasised that no decision has already been taken.

Mr Harrhy said: “I would like to thank everyone for their participation in this first phase of the EMRTS Service Review - a service which is a beacon of excellence and is highly valued without doubt.

“Whilst Phase 1 has taken longer than originally planned, this is a complex issue and I have emphasised that my priority is doing this thoroughly, rather than being bound by any arbitrary timescales.” 

“I have been grateful for the constructive dialogue in all sessions you have participated in - drop-ins, in-person public meetings, and virtual/on-line - which has been very helpful to me and I have appreciated the time and interest given from participants on this matter. 

Mr Harrhy added that the “passion for the air ambulance service is clear and there is a common goal here to make a great service, even better for our communities in Wales”. 

“I committed at the outset of this process to conduct a full and transparent engagement and I hope that participants feel that I have honoured this throughout Phase One. 

“I have been clear that no decision has been made and that listening to the public is shaping the way in which options, for the future configuration of the service, are developed and want to reaffirm that this remains the case.”

Mr Harrhy’s team will now develop a range of options during the next few months, all informed by the feedback to date as well as complementary data modelling that is also underway.

Once the options are developed, the Commissioner plans to go back out to the public as Phase Two for comment on these that will help him arrive at a recommended and preferred option that will then be taken to be considered by the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee (EASC) for decision.