84 NEW AMBULANCES will be on the road after the Welsh Ambulance Service received more than £10 million of funding.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething announced £10.9 million Welsh Government funding for the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust.

Mr Gething has also announced a further £1.6m in funding to the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) to expand the service into a 24/7 operation and establish the Critical Care Transfer Service - which transfers critically ill adults across Wales. This is additional money following the £1.7m already given to the service. 

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The EMRTS provides consultant and critical care practitioner-delivered pre-hospital critical care across Wales. The funding will also be used to fund three specialist critical care ambulances.

“The Welsh Ambulance Service has experienced a huge surge in demand on its services due to the Covid-19 pandemic," said Mr Gething. "The funding announced today will allow the service to upgrade its existing fleet, allowing the service to deliver the best care for people in Wales.

“I’m also pleased to announce further funding which will establish a new Critical Care Transfer Service and see the expansion of EMRTS to a 24/7 operation, in partnership with the Wales Air Ambulance Charity.”

Chris Turley, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s executive director of finance, said: “Our ambulances and response cars in Wales are some of the most modern and well equipped in the UK and this funding will allow us to continue to replace our vehicles as they reach the end of their working life

“Modern ambulances are essential in order that we can continue to provide the best treatment and patient experience possible.

“They’re also important for staff who spend the majority of their working day out and about in the community.

“It’s never been more important than ever to have a fleet which keeps the wheels turning on our ambulance service, and we’re grateful to Welsh Government for its continued support.”

Professor David Lockey, EMRTS national director, said: “The funding has allowed us to extend our critical care provision into a 24/7 service. This, along with our partnership with the Wales Air Ambulance Charity, has helped us improve equality of access to rapid emergency-department standard care across the country.

“In addition, the funding for three specialist critical care ambulances will give us the capacity to support colleagues across NHS Wales with the transfer of critically ill patients between hospitals by road.

“We are very grateful for the ongoing support from Welsh Government, which has allowed our service to grow and make a significant contribution to critical care in Wales.”