East Midlands Ambulance Service to get new director

The former medical director of Derbyshire County's primary care trust will move to East Midlands Ambulance Service, it has been announced.

James Gray will replace medical director John Stephenson, who stepped down from the post in June.

EMAS has been ordered to improve its response times after data showed it had the worst response times in England.

Mr Gray, who will join the ambulance trust in November, initially trained in surgery and emergency medicine.

'More 999 calls'

In June 2010, the service responded to 72.3% of Category A calls in eight minutes compared to a national average of 76.3%.

EMAS said a rise in 999 calls and a new computer system in Lincolnshire had affected performance.

Mr Gray has worked as GP in Derbyshire and South Yorkshire and will continue to work part-time as a GP.

He said: "As a GP, I really appreciate the need for excellent emergency care for patients.

"I'm looking forward to contributing to a high profile service which is performing to a good standard and which plays such a crucial role in the East Midlands healthcare economy."

East Midlands Ambulance Service covers six counties and handles more than 600,000 emergency calls a year.