AMBULANCE services across the country are buckling under the pressure of rising costs and increased workload but Lancashire has bucked the national trend.

The Audit Commission has revealed that nine out of the 38 ambulance trusts failed to reach targets set for emergency response times.

A 40 per cent increase in 999 calls over the last eight years has put massive pressure on ambulance workers.

Last year crews were called out to 4.4 million incidents nationwide at a cost of £470 million and the Commission is calling for a major review of ambulance services across the country.

But despite the national problems, the service in Lancashire has seen a year of major achievements and improvements after major changes.

Emergency calls are now prioritised and last year most life-threatening emergencies were dealt with in less than 10 minutes.

There has also been a drop in the number of complaints about the service and an increase in letters praising the service.

The Commission wants other trusts to follow Lancashire's example and set different priorities according to the type of emergency.

Audit Commission Controller Andrew Foster said: "When anyone needs an ambulance in an emergency, they need it quickly and reliably. But ambulance services are under increasing pressure.

"In order to cope in the future they could have the flexibility to tailor responses to each situation.

"The report suggests that a fresh review of these services would be beneficial."

David Hill, chief executive of Lancashire's ambulance service, said: "We are already down the road of innovation suggested in the Audit Commission report.

"Out of the eight services working towards the new response targets Lancashire has performed the best in the country.

"The more patients we can reach within the critical first eight minutes the better will be their chance of full recovery."

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