CAMPAIGNERS will be heading to the Senedd to present petitions with more than 3,000 signatures opposing plans to remove a rapid response vehicle from Monmouth Ambulance Station.

Members of Save the Monmouth Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) will present the documents to the chairman of the Senedd’s petitions committee, Senedd member Jack Sargeant, followed by a meeting with the CEO of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Jason Killens, on Thursday.

The plans, which the Welsh Ambulance service says is aimed at better matching capacity to demand, would result in two rapid response vehicles being removed from Chepstow and Monmouth ambulance stations.

Terry Kirton and Lorraine Allman, organisers of the campaign, said: “We know from speaking to thousands of people out on the streets just how much anxiety there is about removing the RRV.

“We’ve heard many stories where the RRV has saved someone’s life by being on the scene so quickly with emergency first aid.

“There have equally been tragic cases told where no emergency vehicle has been available, resulting in chronically sick people having to make their own way to A&E, and even lives being lost as a result.”

The paper petitions which will be presented have 3,311 signatures, while an online petition has been signed by 1,529 people.

Campaigners have received responses from Freedom of Information requests, which they say shows the review does not take into account local issues for Monmouth such as population growth, geographical terrain and the number of incidents attended by the rapid response vehicle which do not require a forward visit to hospital.

“We have the data ready, and believe we can put a strong case forward for reconsidering the decision – we just need to be genuinely listened to,” Mr Kirton and Ms Allman said in a joint statement.

Mr Killens said: “The Wales-wide roster review is a complex piece of work, and while we accept there is some nervousness among communities about what this means for provision in their area, the goal ultimately is to ensure that our finite resources are aligned to demand.

“This is not about reducing or downgrading services; it’s about working smarter with the resources we have to deliver a bespoke service to communities, based on the nature and number of calls the data tells us we historically receive in that community, as well as what we predict that demand will look like in the future.

“We have in fact invested heavily in frontline staffing in recent times adding 263 new posts to our emergency workforce.

“We look forward to our meeting with campaigners to better understand their concerns and explain the issues in more detail.”