Ambulance emergency response times in Powys are the worst in Wales and are way below the national target, according to Government figures released today.Figures for December 2007 show only 41.7 per cent of the most important emergency calls received a response within eight minutes in Powys, compared to the Welsh average of 55.9 per cent – the target is 60 per cent.

Last March performance figures appeared to be going in the right direction and the service hit the 60 per cent target of getting to enough category A calls within eight minutes.

An internal report by the Welsh Ambulance Service said high seasonal pressures were to blame.

It also blamed extended turnaround times for paramedics outside accident and emergency, alongside “factors related to availability of staff to fill rotas”.

The corresponding target for the emergency category A calls for the ambulance service in England is 75 per cent.

Kirsty Williams, AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, said she was extremely concerned about the statistics.

She said: “Clearly as a rural area Powys is at a logistical disadvantage to smaller, urban and more manageable communities, but this is not an excuse for people’s lives to be put at risk.

“The hardworking ambulance staff are fighting against a combination of poor road infrastructure, a dispersed and aging population and have inadequate resources to meet these tough demands.

“The assembly government must take urgent action to tackle these low figures in Powys by addressing issues of understaffing, poor infrastructure and a lack of resources.”

A Welsh Ambulance spokesman said the service had seen an improvement in its performance during 2007 after new management was introduced the previous year.

He said: “There have been improvements made over the last 12 months. Last year we invested £16 million in 100 new ambulances.”

John Howard, chief officer of Montgomeryshire Community Health Council, said the problem was down to the lack of ambulance cover across the county.

He said: “The lack of cover is a disaster waiting to happen. It is lucky nothing has happened so far. If you are running with one or two ambulances short on a shift and a major incident happens then something is going to go devastatingly wrong.”

“The crews work extremely hard and extremely well, but I am not sure they are being heard by their managers.”