Rhayader St John Ambulance insists it is not closing

The Rhayader St John Ambulance Cymru branch insists it is growing and trying to rebuild the branch to the level it was previously at.

The branch did admit it had been operating with reduced members recently, but that this will be changing soon as more people have been recruited.

“We have been made aware of various conversations and talks about us being closed,” St John Ambulance Cymru Rhayader said in a post on its Facebook page last Thursday, August 15.

“We can confidently state that this is not the case at all. We are very much still open as normal.

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“This year we have seen a fantastic growth with our operational members who are working through various clinical competencies to become St John responders for Rhayader.

“Despite Rhayader station being under new leadership, we are continuing to grow and rebuild to how the division once was.

“Rhayader St John would like to personally thank the community for their continued support while we have been operating with reduced number of members. Your support has been crucial in giving us the ability to gain members and grow.

“With the amazing support of this fantastic community we are hoping to strengthen further and gain more members for our community.”

The branch added: “Rest assured you will see a rise in activity within Rhayader St John imminently, whether that be covering your local events or responding as voluntary responders to your 999 calls on behalf of the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust.”

It said new ‘meet the team’ posts would appear in the coming days following a “volunteer restructure” within the Rhayader division.

On Saturday, August 17, it was announced that three new members had been passed through their basic first aider training modules.

On Tuesday it was revealed that representatives from St John Ambulance Cymru Rhayader had a meeting with Rhayader Town Council to discuss recruitment support for the local community.

“Some fantastic ideas in the pipeline and with training of new responders well underway,” said the branch.

“We aim to be out supporting the community of Rhayader on a larger scale very soon.

“We would like to thank Rhayader Town Council for giving us the opportunity to come and meet with them all tonight.”

Active for nearly 80 years, the division has established itself as a hub of the town, supporting events big and small and caring for those who need them most.

In 1999, a community first responder service was started, which has rapidly grown to become a lifeline for locals across Radnorshire and indeed Powys.