The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service Cymru (EMRTS Cymru) is a
pre-hospital
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...
critical care service in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It is partnership between
Wales Air Ambulance
The Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust (), also known as Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC; , EAAC), is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the critically ill and inju ...
,
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
and
NHS Wales
NHS Wales () is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service () in the United Kingdom.
NHS Wales was formed as part of the public health system for England and Wales crea ...
.
History
In September 2014 the Welsh Government announced a service that would be capable of reaching around 95% of the population within 30 minutes, operational for 12 hours of the day. Capital funding of almost £2million was allocated in 2014–15 to set up the service, with almost £3million a year expected from the following year to support it. In November 2014, up to eight consultant doctors were to be recruited.
In March 2015, the service was set to start within a few weeks using military and civilian personnel travelling in helicopters and
four-wheel drive
A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...
road vehicles. The service was to operate from two bases, located at
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
in South Wales and
Welshpool
Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...
in Mid-Wales. This was based on the
Australian flying doctor model.
In August 2017, the service was extended with a further crew operating from a base at
Caernarfon Airport, North Wales.
See also
*
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom
Emergency medical services in the United Kingdom provide emergency care to people with acute illness or injury and are predominantly provided free at the point of use by the four National Health Services (NHS) of England, Scotland, Wales, an ...
References
External links
* {{Official website
NHS Wales
2015 establishments in Wales