Campaigners have called for extended ambulance station opening hours amid concerns for the future of one of Montgomeryshire's stations.

Plaid Cymru councillors Elwyn Vaughan and Bryn Davies want to see the ambulance stations in some Montgomeryshire towns extended to 24 hours.

Plaid Cymru group leader Cllr Vaughan said: “Far too often ambulances are stuck outside major hospitals such as Telford, Shrewsbury or Wrexham, resulting in ambulances being drafted in from other parts of Montgomeryshire to relieve the pressures in Welshpool or Newtown.

“But in doing so, they undermine the cover in places such as Machynlleth, Llanfyllin or Llanidloes.

“This is a particular problem at night where a crew from Machynlleth will be called to Newtown only to then end up in Telford or even Hereford hospitals.

“We already have a situation where Llanfyllin and Llanidloes stations are closed at night, we understand there’s a real threat that will happen also in due course at Machynlleth meaning that most of Montgomeryshire will have hardly any cover at night.”

When contacted by the County Times earlier this month, the Welsh Ambulance Service denied there was any immediate threat to round-the-clock ambulance services in Machynlleth.

Cllr Vaughan said a petition was being set up calling for increased hours and services for Montgomeryshire, and that Plaid Cymru Senedd members intend to take up their concerns with the Welsh Government.

Cllr Vaughan also warned that the ambulance based in Dolgellau is often drawn up to deal with issues further north in Gwynedd, further impacting on provision in Montgomeryshire.

“It means that most of south Gwynedd and north Powys could have hardly any cover at night – a disgraceful situation," said Cllr Vaughan.”

The pair want to see all 24-hour coverage at all ambulance stations which would mean extending the hours for Llanidloes and Llanfyllin.

County Times: Elwyn VaughanElwyn Vaughan

The 24-hour ambulance station in Machynlleth should be retained, they say, and an extra ambulance made available in the Newtown and Welshpool area.

Ben Collins, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Operations Manager in south Powys, said: “Recently we undertook a ‘demand and capacity’ review to identify the resources we need to meet predicted and future demand.

“As a result, a roster review is now underway.

“This means that all ambulance rosters across Powys will be subject to a thorough review so that we can be confident that we have the right number of resources working in the right places, at the right time.

“Roster reviews are complex and sensitive and we’re working closely with colleagues, trade unions and Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) to navigate this work and reach an agreement which we believe is the most appropriate.”

Mr Collins added that crews are sent to deal with incidents across geographical boundaries.

Mr Collins “This is especially true in Powys, where crews traverse borders every day to take patients to hospital in one the six neighbouring Welsh health boards, as well as into England."

He said that they try and "mitigate” this as much as they can because it impacts staff welfare and the communities.

He added that the service would “reach out” to Cllrs Vaughan and Davies to “better understand their concerns.”