'No hiding place' under Welsh ambulance 999 changes

A new system for dealing with 999 calls for ambulances in Wales has come into force.

Emergency response time targets will be scrapped for all but life-threatening cases during a one-year trial.

Calls will now be graded and it is estimated 10% of the 420,000 ambulance emergencies a year will be coded "red" for the most critical.

The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust said it was about "putting our sickest patients first".

Deputy health minister Vaughan Gething AM defended the timing of the changes and said there was "no place to hide" for the service.

Andrew Jenkins, deputy medical and clinical director at the ambulance service, said the most critically ill patients will get the response they need.