A Wales Air Ambulance dispatcher is teaming up with crew members for the Charity’s Cycle 100 challenge this autumn.
Rhys Collier, 39, works for EMRTS Critical Care Hub which is based in the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust Clinical Contact Centre, in Cwmbran.
He has spent over 30 years playing rugby in a variety of divisions and will be switching his studs for cleats this September.
As he winds down from contact sports, Rhys sees events like Cycle 100, as a ‘good focus’ to maintain his fitness and fundraise for the lifesaving service he works for.
The ‘Cycle 100km for the Wales Air Ambulance’ fundraising event will take place on Sunday 6 September 2026 and will see participants cycle from Cardiff to the Charity’s headquarters, in Dafen, Llanelli.
He said: “Running the Emergency Critical Care Hub desk is quite a challenging role, but very rewarding, as you can imagine!
“As a team we identify 999 calls for the Wales Air Ambulances in Cardiff, Dafen, Caernarfon and Welshpool. So, our eyes are across the whole of Wales.”
Part of Rhys’ role is to help locate a safe landing spot for the aircraft. He said: “As a former rugby player, I am familiar with most of the pitches, that local knowledge comes in handy. As they are often used in emergencies.
“I also coordinate with the police and fire service to make ensure the area in which we need to land is clear and it is safe to do so.
“It’s very important that members of the public also keep a safe distance away from the aircraft when they see it coming into land.
“We always advise people not to approach the helicopter until it is on the ground, and the rotor blades are at a complete standstill.
“They should also allow the crew to disembark the aircraft and give them the space required to attend to the needs of the patient, who will be critically injured or seriously unwell.”
The Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £13 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care.
Rhys ‘loves’ his job and says he ‘cannot imagine doing anything else’. He started his career as a lifeguard before becoming a call taker with the Welsh Ambulance Service, eighteen years ago.
During the first year of the Covid pandemic, he joined the critical care hub team. He also volunteers for St John’s Ambulance, in his spare time, teaching lifesaving skills to adults and children.
Rhys said: “No day is ever the same! I am so lucky that I get to do something that I am passionate about work alongside the crew.”
During one of his shifts, he was working with CCP Mike Palmer, one of the sportier members of the Wales Air Ambulance team.
Rhys said: “When he (Mike) found out I was retiring from rugby, he asked how I was going to challenge myself? Because obviously there is a huge gap from training all the time, and the game itself, to having no focus point.
“I go to the gym a couple of times a week and try to have a run out with the local veterans’ team to keep my cardiovascular system up.
“But I said to Mike, ‘I’m not doing an ironman’, my body couldn’t take that. So, he suggested the Cycle 100.
“He’d already signed up for it and said a few other crew members are doing it too. So, I’ve signed up, I’ll be representing the critical care hub on the start line.”
By signing up for Cycle 100 you will be making a lifesaving difference. We’d ‘wheelie’ love you to join us on the start line on Sunday, 6 September 2026. Cycle 100
Gail Windley, Wales Air Ambulance Events and Partnerships Fundraiser said:“It’s wonderful to have Rhys from the Critical Care Hub onboard for our third Cycle 100 event!
“The team plays a key role in the chain of events leading up to our aircrafts being tasked, and for that we are very grateful.
“It’s wonderful to have Rhys’ support this year! We will be cheering him on as he makes the transition from rugby to the saddle.
“Every pound raised will make a lifesaving difference. Diolch yn fawr”
