Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 2:24 pm on 29 September 2021.
My question follows a similar route to the question posed by Paul Davies. At a time when only 48 per cent of red calls are answered within eight minutes rather than the target of 65 per cent across the Hywel Dda area, the ambulance trust intends to cut the number of ambulances from three to two in Aberystwyth and from three to two in Cardigan too, and to do this without informing the public or the local surgeries. And we know that our paramedics are under huge pressures, and are often queuing outside hospitals in Shrewsbury, Swansea, Glangwili, Withybush, and so on and so forth, and therefore aren't available to respond to emergency calls in Ceredigion, where the targets of four, eight and 12 hours are missed regularly. And, unfortunately, the same is the case across the Hywel Dda area as a whole. I'm very pleased to hear that you are going to provide a briefing to Members in west Wales. So, in that meeting, I look forward to hearing whether it is acceptable, in a time of crisis for the emergency services, that the trust is cutting ambulance services in Aberystwyth and Cardigan by over 30 per cent.