EMERGENCY ambulance response time performance remained relatively stable in Gwent during November, but targets were missed in four out of five council areas.

Performance against the eight-minute response time standard for category A emergency calls improved in two out of five council areas in Gwent, compared to October.

But four – Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire and Torfaen – were below the target for individual council areas, that a minimum 60 per cent of such calls should have a response on scene inside eight minutes.

One of those four, Blaenau Gwent, saw a dip in performance below that 60 per cent threshold (down to 57.3 per cent), which had been achieved there in October.

Wales-wide in November, the target of 65 per cent of category A calls being reached inside eight minutes was not reached, having been achieved in October for the first time in 16 months.

For the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area the November result was 62.1 per cent, slightly down on October. This equated to 979 out the 2,503 category A calls receiving a response at the scene outside the eight-minute target.

The trend for the ambulance service performing best in the Newport area continued during November, with 71.8 per cent of category A calls resulting in a response at the scene inside eight minutes.Blanket eight-minute response times will be replaced during next year by a system that more accurately reflects clinical priorities.