Ambulance emergency response times improve in Powys

Ambulance response times have been criticised in the past

Ambulance workers have been praised after a marked improvement in emergency response times in Powys.

The latest figures for July show that 66% of 999 calls in the county resulted in an ambulance arriving within an eight-minute target.

In July last year the figure stood at 53%, while in April 2009 it was 46%.

The Welsh Ambulance Service said it was the sixth successive month that crews in Wales had exceeded a 65% national target.

A spokesman said the ambulance service was "grateful to all staff for their continued hard work".

In April, 70.5% of emergency responses across Wales resulted in an ambulance arriving within eight minutes, but in July that dropped slightly to 69.3%.

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We are grateful to all staff for their continued hard work throughout July which helped us to sustain performance above the 65% all Wales target for responses to patients with life threatening emergencies for the sixth-month in a row.

"We are working hard to consistently achieve the national response time target and improve performance at a local level to provide the best quality of care for patients."

Response times in Powys have been criticised in the past for repeatedly failing to reach a 60% target for local authority areas.

But July's improved performance has also been praised by Brecon and Radnorshire AM Kirsty Williams.

She said it was down to a range of measures, including a scheme to treat more people with minor injuries at hospitals in Llandrindod Wells and Brecon.

Ms Williams said this saved unnecessary trips to Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny and Hereford General Hospital.

She added: "I welcome all of the improvements that the Welsh ambulance trust have made to make sure a better service is provided to Powys patients."