From April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 the response times for Northamptonshire were higher than the national target.

For category A incidents which involve life threatening cases an ambulance is expected to arrive within eight minutes of being called.

The national target is 75 per cent and during this period the Northamptonshire division reached 79 per cent. For category B incidents which are slightly less serious the aim is to arrive within 19 minutes of being called.

The national target is 95 per cent and the county’s service reached 98 per cent.

Richard Clayton, service delivery manager for Northamptonshire service improvement said: “Our response times were very good last year because we have staff who want to deliver the best patient care.”

Chris Gaskill, manager for the Northamptonshire division said: “Every minute we get there quicker adds to the potential of that person surviving.”

As the demand for ambulance services increases EMAS tries to try to be in the right place at the right time.

For the last three years its has been using technology which predicts where 999 demand is likely to peak.

This means vehicles can be on standby in an area before a 999 call is likely to be made. The stand-by points change to match the predicted pattern of demand at any given time.