A WELSH ambulance struggled to get to a patient over the weekend in Wrexham due to restricted vehicular access.

High Street in Wrexham has been restricted with permanent bollards placed on the roads, preventing vehicles from driving down. 

But on Saturday, September, 30, the Welsh Ambulance Team was called out to a patient at the Wynnstay Arms Hotel in Wrexham and was delayed due to the restrictive bollards.

The incident was witnessed by Claire Owlett, a nearby Wrexham resident, who was shocked when she saw the paramedics struggling to carry the patient in a stretcher so far down the street. 

She said: "I didn’t realise until it was horrifyingly evident that the emergency services don’t have any access to the High Street once the bollards have been put up.

"It was horrible to see the paramedics wheel the stretcher from the Wynstay to the place (in the rain) and then wheel the poor person to the ambulance."

High Street is temporarily closed off to traffic on Friday and Saturday nights/evenings to keep the public safe on nights out.

The bollards were installed earlier this year as temporary signs were being removed. 

Mark Timmins, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Locality Manager for Flintshire and Wrexham, said: “We had a call at 7.25pm on Saturday to a medical emergency on High Street, Wrexham.

“We sent an emergency ambulance and a rapid response car, and after a short delay in accessing the scene, the patient was assessed and taken promptly to hospital.

“In an emergency, every second counts, and vehicular access is important for the emergency services to provide a swift and effective response.

“We work closely with local authorities to ensure this is maintained and will be liaising with Wrexham Council to understand what happened and to ensure that access in and around the city centre is maintained in future.”

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A spokesperson for Wrexham Council said: “We’ll be liaising with the Welsh Ambulance Service to understand what happened on Saturday, and to look at current arrangements in the city centre to ensure access is maintained.”

Wrexham residents agree that it is absolutely essential that the issue is resolved immediately, with Michelle Williams on Facebook saying: "That could of been a case of life or death and every second counts in those situations."

Thankfully, the patient was treated in due course and no serious harm was done. Wrexham Council and the Welsh Ambulance Service will be discussing a more appropriate solution for future cases.