Shropshire concerns over Wales Air Ambulance move

Plans to relocate a Welsh air ambulance base could have an impact on people living in neighbouring Shropshire, a local authority has warned.

Wales Air Ambulance said leaving its Welshpool site and moving crews north would allow it to attend more than 500 extra emergencies each year.

But Shropshire Council said parts of the English county relied on the service.

It added borders "should not be a barrier to people having needs met".

Wales Air Ambulance's bases in Welshpool and Caernarfon will remain operational until at least 2026.

However, the charity said moving them to a single site in Rhuddlan could see daily hours of operation extended from 12 to 18, with two crews and two helicopters able to fly from the new base.

In a draft statement, Shropshire Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee said western Shropshire was "significantly rural", which meant "the speed of response by road ambulance is significantly longer that in more urban areas".

It called the border with Wales "largely a political distinction" only, and pointed out fundraising for the Wales Ambulance Service Charitable Trust took place in Shropshire.

The committee said a petition with more than 1,200 signatures had opposed the move and argued consultation on the proposal must involve Shropshire residents.

It added it wanted more information about the effect the move would have on the hospitals to which patients were flown.

The Midlands Air Ambulance, which covers the whole of Shropshire, as well as further afield, said it wanted to assure people it was still able to "rapidly attend incidents in the county" from its base at RAF Cosford.

It is building a new a new airbase and charity headquarters on the site.

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