Green light given to close Welshpool and Caernarfon Air Ambulance bases after 2026

Welsh health boards have given the green light to close two Air Ambulance bases after 2026 following a vote on the matter.

A meeting of the Welsh NHS' Joint Commissioning Committee voted that the Welshpool and Caernarfon bases will be closed after 2026. The sites will be merged into a new site in north Wales.

However, the decision hinges on acceptable plans being developed for a bespoke car-based service in rural areas.

A review proposed moving helicopters from Welshpool and Caernarfon to a new site near the A55, rumoured to be in Denbighshire.

The charity has welcomed the move, which it says will "ensure as many people as possible" benefit and allow it to respond to 139 extra calls a year.

The proposals to relocate their bases went out to widespread consultation and were independently reviewed.

However, Welsh residents have previously said that a relocation could prevent the Wales Air Ambulance from achieving their mission statement of "serving Wales, saving lives."

Speaking following the decision today, campaigner Bob Beynon said: "It might be the green light, but it feels like they've just switched off the pre-hospital life support system for the people of mid Wales and west Wales.

"The decision made today will be reflected in the loss of donations from people in that area. The charity will find itself in an unsustainable position."

Councillor Elwyn Vaughan of Powys Council said he was "disappointed" but "not shocked" at the decision.

"It's been crystal clear for months that this is what they're aiming for and every time we've seen a report, it's finding new excuses or justification for the same old argument," he said.

"I'm disappointed more than anything for our communities here in rural mid Wales."

Russell George, a Conservative MS for Montgomeryshire, previously said that the closure would be "detrimental to the people of Mid Wales."

Plaid Cymru Senedd members and MP Liz Saville Roberts said the decision "goes against the interests of communities across northwest and mid Wales".

• What would the new service look like?

The Wales Ambulance Service says the bases in Caernarfon and Welshpool are underutilised. Thew new model would see the current crews and existing assets at each of these bases come together in a new base located in the middle of north Wales.

One crew will operate 8am until 8pm. A second crew will operate between 2pm and 2am. 

With existing bases in Cardiff and Llanelli, it would mean the charity would have three bases going forward.

There had been fears that aircraft would be removed from the charity's fleet.

But Chief Executive Dr Sue Barnes addressed these rumours: "The service will continue to be delivered with four helicopters and a fleet of rapid response vehicles."

"This is an improvement for all parts of Wales, particularly mid and north Wales who will be gaining a more local overnight service – something they don’t have at present.

"To put that into context, that is 750,000 people who have to rely on an available response from Cardiff after the hours of 8pm. This solution allows us to remedy that at no extra cost to the people of Wales."

However, Dr Barnes added that the charity empathised with "genuine concern and anxieties" about care provision and that this has been raised with the Chief Ambulance Services Commissioner.

The charity will start work immediately on the planning for the new facility with the involvement of the service's medical and aviation colleagues, Dr Barnes said.

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