Fit medical staff getting ready to join the chain gang...

NEW ambulance service bikes will be able to help patients in more parts of South Wales.

Following on from its launch in Cardiff and Vale, the Welsh Ambulance Service has unveiled its new Cycle Response Unit bikes for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area.

Four new specially made bicycles were handed over to the ambulance service at The Bike Shed store in Pontcanna, Cardiff, on Friday. They will first be utilised on the streets of Newport.

After initial research work with London Ambulance Service, who have 20 years’ experience of cycle response, The Bike Shed was drafted in to work on the best bike design to accommodate the 52kg load of equipment they will carry – the same as that in rapid response ambulance cars.

The aptly-named Darren Panniers, ambulance operations manager for the Aneurin Bevan UHB area, said: “We are thrilled to take delivery of the new bikes.

“Working closely with a specialised local business has given us the opportunity to fine-tune every aspect and achieve the best possible cycles for our crews.”

Staffed by paramedics and emergency medical technicians who hold public service cycling certificates, the Cycle Response Unit (CRU) was first trialled in

Cardiff in 2016 and has proved a useful and popular asset, especially at peak times like Christmas or on rugby or football match days.

The CRU in Cardiff was used for 623 requests for assistance in 2018 and often prevented a vehicle being sent to a non-emergency, freeing up time for the most acute calls.

The CRU hope to be out in Newport before Christmas covering roughly a 1.5-mile radius around the city centre.