A NEW recruitment drive for ambulance service staff in Wales will help improve response times to emergency callouts, the health minister has said.

Today, Thursday, Eluned Morgan has announced £3 million for hiring new recruits to the Welsh Ambulance Service, meaning it can bring in around 100 new frontline staff.

The money will also fund a new response unit, CHARU, that deals with the highest-priority callouts for illness and injury, such as cardiac arrest.

It is also hoped the hiring of new paramedics will help to manage increased demand for emergency care.

Ms Morgan has launched a Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care programme to improve access to services.

The Welsh Government said the new recruits would be deployed "in a targeted way across Wales in the areas which are under the greatest pressure".

Ms Morgan said she recognised the "immense pressures" the ambulance service was under.

"By increasing staff capacity in the short term we can improve response times and ensure better care for people who have been waiting too long for an ambulance," she said.

“Our Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care programme will support an increase in staffing in crucial areas in the medium term and help staff to deliver the right care, in the right place, first time whenever possible."

Jason Killens, the chief executive of the Welsh Ambulance Service, welcomed news of the funding for new recruits.

He said: "Extreme pressure remains across the urgent and emergency care system, and we continue to work with partners to find solutions to the complex and long-standing issues.

“In the meantime, we’re growing our workforce to put us in the best possible position to meet rising demand and have already recruited to more than 260 frontline posts in the last two years.

“An additional 100 frontline posts is going to bolster our capacity even further, and we’re grateful to Welsh Government for funding this and the pioneering new CHARU initiative, which we hope will improve the outcomes for our most critically ill patients.”