999 time targets missed 1 in 3 times in Kirklees

Nov 19 2008 by Neil Atkinson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

AMBULANCE crews across Yorkshire are missing 999 targets, it was revealed today.

And figures for Kirklees are the worst in the region.

A study of response times show that crews in Kirklees reach their emergency calls within eight minutes in only 63.3% of times.

The average for the county is 72.1%; the Government target is 75%.

In Calderdale the target was hit in 65.5% of callouts. The best figure in the region was Hull, with 88.5%. Ambulance chiefs say the service is getting steadily better, as figures for the whole region earlier in the year showed response times were averaging 68%. They say the recent investment of millions of pounds will help to continue the improvement.

More money is now expected to be put into the service to pay for further improvements.