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Friday, October 21, 2022
FEARS OVER HALTING OF 999 SERVICE Volunteers’ emergency response work temporarily stopped
The suspension of a vital emergency service could have life-threatening consequences, a mayor has claimed.
Rhayader St John Ambulance volunteers have been temporarily stopped from responding to emergencies. The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust and St John Ambulance Cymru have agreed to pause the organisation’s emergency response work while they deal with what they have described as “operational matters”. St John Ambulance Cymru has been active in Rhayader for 80 years, and the first responders scheme started in 1999. In 2021, the scheme responded to 570 emergency calls. Rhayader Mayor Councillor Dai
KAREN COMPTON
karen.compton@mnamedia.co.uk Davies said the suspension was not because of a response or clinical issue, nor a complaint. He said: “The decision could have life-threatening consequences to the people of Rhayader and Mid Wales. “It is already having major repercussions to our residents and this has to be stopped right now. “Rhayader St John Division is our lifeline and has come to the aid of so many people. It needs to be reinstated with immediate effect.” Rhayader County Councillor Angela Davies added the responders are often the only out-of-hours emergency service on duty in midPowys as ambulance stations are rarely manned 24/7.
Lee Brooks, executive director of operations at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said it and St John Ambulance Cymru were committed to safe and quality services and the resumption of the service as soon as possible. He said: “We are currently navigating some operational matters and have mutually agreed with St John to temporarily pause their activity on our behalf in Rhayader until these can be resolved.” St John Ambulance said it was confident a resolution will be found by the end of the month and the responder team will resume its response. It said Community First Responders and the Mid Wales & West Fire Response Service are supporting ambulance teams, and it knows the situation is causing serious concern.
Consultation starts on air base closure plan Wales Air Ambulance has started its consultation on the closure of its Welshpool base. The potential loss of the base in Mid Wales has sparked anger and concern from community leaders throughout Powys. They fear the move will see a slower response to incidents in Mid Wales. But the charity said shutting the base, and its site in Caernarfon, would allow the services to be con-
solidated in a central North Wales location close to the A55. It said the change would allow the service to offer different medical shifts to cover Mid and North Wales. One shift would operate from 8am until 8pm and another from 2pm to 2am, increasing coverage based in the region by six hours. The charity claims this would allow it to potentially attend 583 more emergencies a year. Bosses
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say the analysis has been conducted by the charity’s medical partners the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service, and includes independent modelling. The Emergency Ambulance Services Committee will receive the formal proposal on November 8, before making a decision early next year. For more information visit walesairambulance.com l Battle – Page 2
Some of the cast members of Kington and District Operatic Society ready to return to performing after a three-year break because of Covid restrictions
Society members returning to the stage for classic opera A group of Kington performers are all set to return to the stage for the first time in three years. The staging of the popular performances by members of the Kington and District Operatic Society have been affected by the restrictions of the Covid pandemic in recent years. And so members of the operatic society are delighted to be taking to the stage with a classic comic opera next week. The society will be presenting Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic comic opera HMS Pinafore at Lady Hawkins Community Leisure Centre. Performances will take place next week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All the performances will start at 7.30pm.
Cast The cast list includes Jim Smith as Sir Joseph Porter, Steve Hollinghurst as Captain Corcoran, Russell Painter as Ralph Rackstraw, and Frank Banks as Dick Deadeye. Tim Hollinghurst stars as the bosun, John Beesley is the carpenter, Abigail Hollinghurst plays Josephine, while Jess Squire appears as Hebe and Karen Spooner is Little Buttercup. The sisters, cousins and aunts are performed by Midge Ault, Janet Boydell, Penny Cole, Dilys Hollinghurst, Eloise King, Rachelle King,
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Jess Squire as Hebe with Jim Smith as Sir Joseph Porter and Karen Spooner as Little Buttercup. Photos by Andy Compton. Maggie Maynard and Trish Petterson. The sailors are Mark Beaton, David Francis, and Hirom Squire. Lynne Owens has produced the show, while Lorna Firth is the managing director and Kath Ainsworth is the accompanist. The scenery has been created by Linda Ellams and make-up has been done by Janet Francis and Alma Vaughan. Tickets are £9 for adults and £5 for under 18s and they are available from Tom Bounds Electrical at 32 High Street, Kington or by calling 01544 231303. For more information about the performances, visit kingtonoper atic.co.uk or visit the group’s Facebook page. Kington and District Operatic Society is looking for new members and anyone interested in joining should visit its website. l Performance – Page 14
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