Wales Air Ambulance has confirmed that the Welshpool base will be running until at least 2026.

The news came as the charity announced its new aviation contract with Gama Aviation. As the new contract begins on January 2024 the charity has decided to not make any changes for at least 18 months after the contract - meaning any potential move will not take place until 2026.

Dr Sue Barnes, the Charity’s chief executive, said: “Our aim is to protect our services for the people of Wales while continually seeking improvements in service and availability.

“Proposed service improvements are the subject of a public engagement led by the Chief Ambulance Services Commissioner, to which we will contribute via an independent submission.

“However, time is moving on and with Gama Aviation taking over on 1 January 2024, pragmatic decisions have had to be taken.

“Given the need to ensure continuity of service and mindful of the need to give our airbase landlords some commercial certainty, we will commence our new aviation contact with our current four-base model. This will allow the Commissioner to conclude the process while allowing us to protect our lifesaving service.”

OTHER NEWS:

The announcement comes during an independent review of the Charity’s NHS medical partners, the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS), which is being undertaken by the Chief Ambulance Services Commissioner.

This has been reflected in the new aviation contract, which can adapt to potential future service delivery changes if required (revised base locations, revised operational hours, enhanced after-dark flying).

The new Gama contract, valued at £65 million, covers the operation and maintenance of a primary fleet of four Airbus H145 helicopters, operating from the charity’s current sites in Dafen, Cardiff, Caernarfon and Welshpool.

It additionally includes a backup H145 helicopter to ensure service continuity during periods of maintenance for the primary fleet. 

County Times:

Marwan Khalek, Gama Aviation Chief Executive Officer, said: “I’m delighted that we will be partnering with the Charity, supporting their lifesaving mission that delivers an essential service to communities across the country.

"We look forward to working closely with the Charity’s team as we stand up the flight and maintenance crews, aircraft and other resources that are required to support the people of Wales.”

David Gilbert, Wales Air Ambulance chair of trustees, said: “After a robust procurement process, we are delighted to announce Gama Aviation as our next aviation partner.

"They are a forward-thinking and ambitious company with experience of helicopter emergency medical services in Guernsey and Jersey, as well as in Scotland. We look forward to working with them in the years to come."

Dr Sue Barnes added that any changes to the service going forward would not be due to costs but did say the overall expenses had risen with inflation.

“A like-for-like aviation service now totals just over £3 million more per annum,” said Dr Barnes.

“We were faced with a stark choice – to cut our cloth according to our existing levels of donations and reduce the number of aircraft, or rise to the challenge of maintaining our existing fleet, with the passionate and ongoing support from the people of Wales.

“We agreed that the right thing to do was to maintain our existing fleet.

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“There will be some who will point to recent proposals to consider changing base locations and suggest that this was a cost-saving plan when faced with difficult choices on aviation costs. Nothing can be further from the truth. These costs will be the same regardless of whether the service operates out of three bases or four.”