Fresh twist in controversial plan to shut two Welsh air ambulance bases (original) (raw)
The High Court has granted permission for campaigners to challenge the re-organisation of the Wales Air Ambulance service. The proposed reorganisation, which would see the closure of bases in Welshpool in Powys and Caernarfon in Gwynedd in favour of a new single base, was given the green light by the NHS Wales Joint Commissioning Committee (JCC) in April.
But now, campaigners opposing the move have been granted permission to challenge the decision, with a full hearing potentially taking place within two months. The solicitors representing the campaigners argue that the JCC's approval of the plans, put forward by the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS), was unlawful.
According to BBC News Wales, Lucy O'Brien, from the law firm, said: "Our clients are pleased that the court has agreed that there is an arguable case that the JCC decision was made unlawfully. Many of those who live in the rural and coastal parts of mid and north Wales feel that their rights to air ambulance coverage will be eroded by the JCC decision." For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter.
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Responding to news that the High Court has granted permission to challenge the re-organisation of the Wales Air Ambulance Service, Welsh Conservative Russell George MS, shadow minister for Mid-Wales, said: "This news is a burst of light in what has been a very worrying period.
"The re-organisation of the Air Ambulance Service could leave people living in rural areas a few inches of rain away from being completely closed off from emergency care. The reconfiguration of Air Ambulance Critical Care services in Wales, from a point before any of us had heard of the proposal to close the bases, has been a process filled with bias, misinformation, and misdirection."
WalesOnline has approached the Welsh Government and JCC for a comment.
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