 The Scottish Ambulance Service now prioritises calls |
Ambulance crews are responding to emergency calls from critically ill patients in record time in Scotland, figures suggest. The Scottish Ambulance Service said the average time to attend 999 calls from those most in need fell to 8.2 minutes.
Chief executive Adrian Lucas attributed the figures to the service's ability to prioritise calls.
Crews responded to 84,582 emergency calls between April and November, up 12% on last year.
The most common conditions suffered by those making critical calls included chest pains, breathing problems, convulsions, fainting and cardiac arrest.
Mr Lucas said: "We are going to more seriously ill patients quicker than ever before thanks to the ability to prioritise calls so that those that need our care most get it fastest.
"That this has been achieved within the context of ever increasing demand is testament to the commitment and hard work of our staff, who often have to operate in the most extreme situations to treat patients and save life.
"We will continue to strive towards improving our response times further over the coming year."
He said extra resources would be committed over the festive period to cope with the seasonal 20% increase in alcohol-related hospital admissions.
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We will continue to strive towards improving our response times further over the coming year
