Notice of Motion by Councillor Llio Elenid Owen
In accordance with the Notice of Motion received under Section 4.19 of
the Constitution, Councillor Llio Elenid Owen will propose as follows:-
The decision by the Welsh National Health
Service Joint Commissioning
Committee and health boards to close and centralise
the Welsh Air Ambulance centres
of Caernarfon (Dinas Dinlle) and Welshpool
is a devastating blow to
the whole of Gwynedd and another example of how Wales's central
services ignore the aspirations and demands of rural Wales. I ask the Council to oppose the decision, and to ask for full
intervention and investigation into the decision by the Welsh Government.
Additional documents:
Decision:
The
decision by the Welsh National Health Service Joint Commissioning Committee and
health boards to close and centralise the Welsh Air Ambulance centres of
Caernarfon (Dinas Dinlle) and Welshpool is a devastating blow to the whole of
Gwynedd and another example of how Wales' central services ignore the
aspirations and demands of rural Wales. This Council opposes the decision and
asks for full intervention and investigation into the decision by the Welsh
Government.
Minutes:
(A)
Submitted – the following notice of motion by Councillor Llio Elenid Owen
under Section 4.19 of the Constitution, and it was seconded:-
The decision by the National Health
Service Wales Joint Commissioning Committee and the health boards to close and
centralise the Wales Air Ambulance centres of Caernarfon (Dinas Dinlle) and
Welshpool is a devastating blow to the whole of Gwynedd and another example of
how Wales's central services ignore the aspirations and demands of rural Wales.
I ask the Council to oppose the decision, and to ask for full intervention and
an investigation into the decision by the Welsh Government.
The member set out the context to her motion, noting
that:
·
A year and a half ago, the Council had voted
unanimously in favour of her motion that called on the relevant bodies to retain
the Air Ambulance centres at Dinas Dinlle and Welshpool, and build on the
services in their current bases, but the recent decision to close those centres
was disappointing and heartbreaking and was a huge blow to the whole of
Gwynedd.
·
The NHS Wales Joint
Commissioning Committee, which included four Lay Members and the seven Chief
Executives of the Welsh Health Board, had come to a majority decision at the
end of April to accept the recommendations in the Service Review of the
Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS), to merge the Air
Ambulance Centres of Caernarfon and Welshpool on a new base in central north
Wales, with the exact location to be determined.
·
Betsi Cadwaladr Health
Board and Powys Health Board – the two health regions that would be
specifically affected by the decisions – were against the decision, but the
public's needs and views on the matter in those two areas had not been listened
to at all. As such, the Welsh Government
would now need to intervene and conduct a full investigation into the decision.
·
The recommendations
noted that this decision would enable more people to benefit from the clinical
expertise provided by the teams of this critical care service and that it would
also include the provision of an additional bespoke road-based service for
rural communities. However, as the Members of Parliament for Gwynedd had noted,
there were essential questions that had not yet been answered, especially
around the additional bespoke road-based provision, and it was all still very
vague.
·
It was not believed
that there was any sense in moving the bases from Dinas Dinlle and Welshpool,
on the outskirts of some of the most remote and rural areas of Wales, and
relocating them in a populated area by the A55 in north-east Wales.
· We must highlight our support and gratitude, as local people and as elected members, to the Wales Air Ambulance charity and the clinical teams of the Wales NHS Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS). The excellent work and service they delivered in order to provide emergency care in our communities was utterly invaluable, and the Wales Air Ambulance was one of the charities ... view the full minutes text for item 13