Dyfed-Powys Police and The Welsh Ambulance Service are trialling a Joint Response Unit in Pembrokeshire over Christmas.

Under the scheme, a Paramedic and a Special Constable in a standard rapid response ambulance, known as the Joint Response Unit (JRU), will carry out shifts covering the Pembrokeshire area. 

They will self-select appropriate 999 incidents via remote access to calls coming into local control rooms.

This will mean that police officers at the scene will be freed up to move on to other cases by not having to wait for an ambulance to be allocated.

This will also enable ambulance crews who would normally have attended to respond to members of the public facing potentially life-threatening emergencies elsewhere in the region. 

The pilot will take place on December 22, 26 and 31 between the times of 5pm and 3am.

Chief Inspector Mark McSweeney from Dyfed-Powys Police said: “Our Special Constabulary is a vital resource for Dyfed-Powys Police.

"They work directly alongside regular police officers to increase the police presence within our local communities.

“We already work successfully in partnership with the Ambulance Service with the Mental Health Triage Scheme.

"The JRU will allows us to provide an enhanced service to people in need and reduce the amount of calls that our frontline officers initially attend which also require some form of medical response, thus freeing them to attend other calls.

Rob Jeffery, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s Operations Manager for the Hywel Dda Health Board area, said: “We’re looking forward to working together with Dyfed Powys Police’s Special Constabulary as part of the Joint Response Unit over the festive period.

“We attend many of the same incidents as our police colleagues on a daily basis, but not all of them require an immediate response from an ambulance crew.

“The aim of this scheme is to keep our crews available to help people facing life-threatening emergencies, and free up police officers from incidents by not having to wait for an ambulance and receiving support from a Special Constable.”

Once the pilot is completed it will be evaluated.