In reply to Mr Fletcher's letter from last week, as a serving member of the Welsh Ambulance Service I feel that I am in a position to comment.
As far as we have been informed, the ambulance will not be moving to Abergavenny, but due to the large costs of repair to the station, another viable location in Monmouth is currently under review.
Regarding the comment on the fire station, it was discussed with the fire service but a positive agreement could not be reached.
We have a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) that normally stays in the Monmouth area, so therefore the target times set by the ambulance trust on the whole are being met.
This is not a true reflection as the Monmouth ambulance is either not anywhere near our area, or more recently is not even on duty due to the trust not covering a 12-hour shift.
Last week, on one day shift, the RRV was called to five jobs in our area but there was no Monmouth crew on duty, compromising the patient's condition while waiting for crews from much further afield to transport the patient to a receiving Accident and Emergency department.
From my experience of the calls that we attend in Monmouth, the majority are of a genuine nature, so why is our ambulance being dragged further and further away from our area?
Even on night shifts if we have a quieter period we still seem to be moved to Abergavenny on standby, sometimes even Tredegar or Blackwood.
This is totally unacceptable, the residents of Monmouth and surrounding areas pay their taxes and community charges so at the very least have the right to an emergency ambulance should they require urgent transport to hospital.
Mr Fletcher's concerns are valid ones, but this is just the tip of a rather complex iceberg.
Members of staff at Monmouth
Ambulance Station, names witheld