UNION members condemned today a decision to halt university courses in Wales for paramedics because of funding constraints on the ambulance service.

Welsh Ambulance Service (WAS) director Carl Kneeshaw said: “Health Education and Improvement Wales, in partnership with the WAS and Welsh government, has taken the difficult decision to pause commissioning of university paramedic science programmes in Wales for the 2026-27 academic year.”

The decision to halt paramedic courses came within weeks of newly qualified paramedics in Wales being told there were no jobs for them and they should seek employment outside the country.

A Unison Cymru Welsh Ambulance Branch spokesperson said: “This situation is being driven primarily by wider financial pressures placed upon the ambulance service, stemming from funding constraints at a governmental level.

“However, the consequences of these decisions are deeply concerning. And paramedics trained in Wales, using public funds, should be offered employment as paramedics in Wales.”

The ambulance branch said it was troubled that the reduction in newly qualified paramedic recruitment aligned with plans to reduce the number of paramedics on front-line emergency ambulances by up to 25 per cent across Wales.

The Unison branch said it had repeatedly highlighted its concerns about the potential impact on patient safety and the wider public, and placed additional strain on the workforce.

“We are also concerned that, despite these financial pressures, significant levels of overruns (where staff are forced to work beyond their scheduled shifts) continue, with no immediate plan to reduce them,” the Unison branch spokesperson said.

Plaid Cymru Senedd candidate Carrie Harper, for the Fflint Wrecsam constituency, branded the Welsh Labour government a “disgrace” after the paramedic university courses in Swansea and Wrexham were paused.

Ms Harper said: “This is a disgrace — not only that there won’t be jobs for training paramedics, but that courses are now being stopped to train much-needed paramedics for the future.

“It’s an embodiment of Labour’s failure when it comes to our NHS, proving once again that they’ve had no vision for its future, no workforce plan, and no joined-up thinking to link healthcare staffing needs with training courses.

“Students are being failed, the NHS is being failed, and patients are being failed.

“A Plaid Cymru government will develop and strengthen the NHS workforce, with our new comprehensive national workforce strategy that is desperately needed.”