THE latest set of ambulance response time figures show Monmouthshire sitting in 21st place out of the 22 Welsh local authorities.

Statistics, released on Wednesday 29th July, show the region sitting second to bottom with 52.1 per cent of emergency calls seeing an ambulance reach the site within eight minutes.

This is up slightly from the previous month’s figure of 51.2 per cent, which also saw Monmouthshire in 21st place in the rankings, but still below the national average of 61.4 per cent and the national target of 65 per cent.

The eight minute response has been used for more than 40 years as the benchmark for performance of Category A emergency calls.

This means that a paramedic should be at the scene within eight minutes for any call that is immediately life threatening.

Despite Monmouthshire’s poor performance, the figures for June show continued improvement nationwide, up from May’s 59.4 per cent Welsh average.

On the same day as June 2015’s response figures were released, the Welsh Government has announced that it will be scrapping the current measures for response times, with a new pilot scheme.

As of Thursday 1st October, the new model will introduce three new categories of calls – red, amber and green.

The eight minute response target will remain for the red life-threatening category, but will be scrapped for the amber and green calls.

Amber calls refer to patients with conditions which may need treatment and care at the scene and fast transport to a hospital if needed.

Patients will be prioritised on the basis of clinical need and will still receive a fast response. Those responses will be judged on different criteria though, with clinical outcomes the measure of success.

Finally, green non-serious calls will often be managed by other health services, including advice and self-care.

The changes have come in response to the McClelland review, penned by Professor Siobhan McClelland, chair of the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee.

Professor McClelland said: “I am pleased this pilot has been approved as it clearly builds on the strategic review in 2013.

“The key recommendations I made outlined that emergency ambulance services need to have a clinical focus and to target resources where they need to be.

“This is an opportunity, through the commissioning quality and delivery framework, to learn and rigorously evaluate throughout the period of the pilot, as well as to publish an intelligent suite of measures and standards.”

Tracy Myhill, chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust said: “Having a fast ambulance arrive at a patient’s door does not necessarily translate to a better outcome. However, having the right type of vehicle arrive at a patient’s door and timely transport to a treatment centre does.”