| The Scottish Ambulance Service is confident it will be able to reach 75% of category A calls across the country within eight minutes by the 2008 deadline and latest statistics suggest Tayside and Fife are exceeding national response times.
The figures show that ambulances in Tayside and Fife are reaching patients with life-threatening conditions on average 5% and 8% faster respectively.
A spokesperson for the Ambulance Service said modernisation is the key to success, with 999 calls now priority-based.
“Those who really need us get priority and we evaluate each call in terms of the condition of the patient. The basic principle is that we will go slower to some and faster to others.”
The service introduced a £22 million modernisation programme two years ago and it has helped reduce response times substantially in a short space of time.
“Under the old system, calls were answered on a first come, first served basis, but with calls now prioritised, an ambulance on a less serious call can be re-directed if it is closest to a more serious call such as a heart attack victim,” explained the spokesperson.
“Category B calls will also get a fast response because these too can still be serious.
“A broken leg can be in this category, but in most cases are not life-threatening.
“So a call to such a victim would be given a lower priority than someone having a heart attack.”
*The Evening Telegraph can reveal that for 2003-04, Tayside and Fife are second and third in the table of best performers in responding to category A calls within 8 minutes.
As yet unreleased figures show the Scotland-wide target for 2003/04 was 56.3% but both Tayside and Fife eclipsed the national average at 65.6% and 62.4%. |
