FEWER than half of category A emergency ambulance calls in Monmouthshire during 2014 have received an on-scene response inside the standard eight minutes.

October was the eighth month during 2014 in which less than 50 per cent of such calls from the county received an on-scene response within that timescale, one of the poorest performances by Wales' ambulance service based on figures for Wales' 22 council areas.

In October, the percentage of category A calls from Monmouthshire receiving a response inside eight minutes was just 46.5 per cent, the third worst in Wales that month.

Only in January (54 per cent) and August (50 per cent), has Monmouthshire enjoyed a response rate of above or at 50 per cent, but comparing year-on-year results, the October figures give even more cause for concern.

In October 2013, the response rate against the eight-minute standard in Monmouthshire was 58 per cent, yet the number of category A calls from the county was 371, just one more than in October this year.

Monmouthshire included, the three worst sets of emergency ambulance response times in Wales during October were recorded in parts of Gwent, the other two being Torfaen and Caerphilly.

Only in Newport (58.6 per cent) did the ambulance service’s performance come anywhere near the target for individual areas - that a minimum 60 per cent of category A calls receive the eight minute on-scene response.

Deputy health minister Vaughan Gething, quizzed in the Senedd on the latest response time figures by Welsh Liberal Democrats' leader Kirsty Williams, admitted the figures for October on a Wales-wide basis were nowhere near good enough.

Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay said he was appalled, adding: “These latest figures will be of serious concern to my constituents, who should be confident that when they are faced with a life-threatening situation they can expect a prompt medical response.

“I know from the many complaints I receive that a long wait for an ambulance to arrive is extremely distressing and can mean the difference between life and death.”