A NEW callout service for Sussex ambulances has made a slow start, with fewer than half the the number of life-threatening emergencies failing being reached within Government target times.

Just 46.3 per cent of the new Grade A priority incidents have been attended in under eight minutes since the system was launched on April 1. The Government's target is for 75 per cent punctuality within three years. Ambulance chiefs are blaming poor weather conditions as one of the main reasons for the disappointing start. But Sussex still holds up against other counties, such as Berkshire, where fewer than 30 per cent of top priority callouts were on time a fortnight after the system was introduced. Under the new system, cases are prioritised over the phone, with grade A denoting a potentially life-threatening emergency, and B and C less serious incidents. After hearing a progress report at this week's Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust board meeting, chief executive David Griffiths said: "I thought 46 per cent was quite low. Does that represent a bad start, or have we just had a few bad days?" But trust communications manager Joe Garcia said the figures were only a snapshot indication of a 14-day period, much of which had suffered bad weather. He added that the new system was proving successful to the extent that its introduction had not been noticed by the public. So far, 3,938 incidents have been dealt with under the new system, 1,162 of them grade A, 2,058 grade B and 718 grade C.

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