MONTGOMERYSHIRE MS Russell George has called on First Minister Mark Drakeford to consider the current ambulance crisis when reviewing the proposed closure of Wales Air Ambulance bases in Welshpool and Caernarfon.

Mr George said the Wales Air Ambulance review was “central” to the debate as he questioned Mr Drakeford in the Senedd on the current state of the Ambulance Service.

Ambulance response times plunged to new depths according to recent figures, with less than 40 per cent of life-threatening incidents being reached in the target time.

The target of 65 per cent of red-calls reaching their patient within eight minutes has not been reached now since July 2020.

Mr George said that the ambulance service is currently under intense pressure and is at a crisis point.

Questioning the First Minister in the Senedd, Mr George said: “Given the pressure on the ambulance service, the Wales air ambulance service is more crucial for constituents like mine in mid Wales.

“Given the state of the overall ambulance service in Wales, can I ask if the current Ambulance service levels will be considered in the Wales air ambulance review, and if not, why not’

“There is anxiety across the country, particularly when people are waiting for an ambulance, but there’s even greater anxiety in mid Wales, and I hope you can understand how the current proposals are causing such further significant anxiety across my constituency.”

Mr Drakeford said that the points Mr George “makes powerfully on behalf of his constituents”, will “of course be heard in the review” - which is currently being held - “alongside all the other evidence.”