Covid in Wales: More armed forces support for ambulances

Almost 200 more members of the armed forces have been drafted in to help the Welsh ambulance service as drivers over the winter.

There have already been 129 military personnel supporting the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) since October.

Their task has also been extended until the end of March.

Ambulance chief executive Jason Killens said the service was seeing "more work than we have ever had".

The extra 184 armed forces members are due to start from 4 January, taking the total number to 313.

These servicemen and women, who have received training, will support ambulances as additional drivers.

Mr Killens said having the military personnel would help put more ambulances on duty so "we can get to more patients, more quickly, while the extreme pressure continues".

"The winter period is our busiest time and having military support will bolster our capacity and put us in the best possible position to provide a safe service to the people of Wales," he said.

Mr Killens has previously said there was "pressure on our workforce" due to high community prevalence of Covid, which means "we have got less of our own people available".

"We've got more work than we have ever had - some of our days are 25% to 30% busier than we would expect for this time of year, and that's been going on for months too."

It is the third time the armed forces have supported the WAST since the pandemic began in March 2020.

However, in November a union warned that paramedics feared they cannot do their job safely due to being forced to work with the armed forces on ambulances.

In total there are now 411 armed forces members available to support the pandemic response in Wales.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the extra personnel would support the service in Wales to ensure they can "continue to provide life-saving services to those most in need".

And Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said the armed forces "continue to play a key role in the fight against Covid-19 in Wales".

The latest uplift in military support for the ambulance service comes after 98 personnel were made available to support the Covid vaccine booster programme in Wales last week.

Those being deployed are a mixture of health care professionals and general duties personnel who will be working in support of NHS Wales staff and volunteers, administering vaccines and providing planning expertise.

Personnel come from units across the three services - Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force - and will be deployed to all seven health boards in Wales.