Ambulance service "most improved" (From Salisbury Journal)

Ambulance service "most improved"

1:58pm Thursday 24th June 2010 in News By Morwenna Blake

GREAT Western Ambulance Service is reaching 75 per cent of the most urgent cases within the national eight-minute target.

Figures released today by the NHS Information Centre also show GWAS to be the most improved service in England over the last financial year.

Chief executive David Whiting said: “How quickly we reach our patients is clearly a significant part of the service we are here to provide. The fact that GWAS has met these important national performance standards – despite responding to 10 per cent more 999 calls than the previous year – is a sure sign of the progress the trust continued to make last year.

“Getting the right care to patients wherever and whenever they need us relies on superb teamwork from everyone in the service. All our staff can rightly feel proud of their part in achieving this important milestone and I would like to offer my personal thanks for their effort and dedication.”

In the previous year GWAS arrived at 68.4 per cent of category A incidents within eight minutes.