Ambulances still failing . . .

Only 74.1 per cent of paramedics reach the most serious category A 999 calls in the government target time of eight minutes - below the national average of 75.7 per cent.

But the bleak statistics hide the true story of a trust finally shaking off years of failure, says new chief Claire Severgnini.

The performance figures are yet another blip in Hampshire Ambulance's shaky service record.

Last year it tumbled to the bottom of the official rankings when it failed to score a single star in the government rating system.

It missed six out of 13 targets and became one of only five ambulance trusts in the country to get zero out of a maximum three stars.

Six months ago, the trust hit the headlines again when it took almost an hour for an ambulance to reach a Hampshire mother giving birth to a premature baby that later died.

An investigation was launched into why paramedics had to travel from 30 miles away to the family in Romsey to treat baby Lee Mazzoni-Dalton.

Now this year's early figures show that ambulances are still missing crucial targets - but just eight months into her job, the new boss says the story behind the statistics is very different.

Mrs Severgnini took over the running of the beleaguered service in October and has already brought in sweeping changes to the way ambulances are deployed and used.

Paramedics are also now, for the first time, paid overtime for doing weekend shifts traditionally hard to fill.

"We have had to fund it ourselves and find the money," she said. "It has really stretched us to the limit, but it means the trust was failing and now we're pulling it around."

Since December last year, the trust has been hitting the eight-minute target in the required 75 per cent of cases - but the dismal performance during the rest of 2003 has pulled the average down, added Mrs Severgnini.

"We have been performing to a really good, two-star standard since December and it's just so unfortunate that we're going to get zero stars because of last year.

"The star rating comes to kick you when you have done months of good work.

"But, recently, we have excelled ourselves and we know that we're really on track now."

Health minister Rosie Winterton, speaking about the figures, acknowledged that improvements were still needed on some emergency calls. "We know there is lots more work to do and that performance against the non-life-threatening targets must improve," she said.

Ambulance services have called for the category C (the lowest priority emergencies) target to be clarified and the government is thought to be looking at the options.

Moves are under way to bring "extra focus" to dealing with category B and C calls, the Department of Health said.

Ms Winterton stressed that the success in top priority cases came despite eight per cent more emergency calls being made than in previous years.

"Thanks to the hard work of staff, ambulance trusts are reaching more patients with life-threatening conditions faster than ever before, reaching 75.7 per cent in under eight minutes," she said.

"This improved performance has taken place despite significant increases in the number of emergency calls and incidents attended.

"We will build on these improvements and continue to support trusts to meet the challenge of improved standards for patients."