A GWENT Assembly Member is demanding that health minister Dr Brian Gibbons set a deadline for Wales' ambulance service to improve its performance in this region.

The problem in Monmouthshire is particularly acute, though ambulances are failing to meet the 60 per cent target for eight-minute responses to life-threatening incidents in all five local authority areas of Gwent.

Last year, the Argus revealed how Bob Greenland, a Monmouthshire councillor and Gwent Community Health Council member, had once driven himself 20 miles to hospital suffering from chest pains, rather than wait for an ambulance.

And Gwent Central League footballer Matthew Watkins waited more than an hour for an ambulance when he broke a leg in three places during a game at Abergavenny last April.

Now William Graham, Conservative AM for South Wales East, says: "I demanded answers to why the percentage of emergency calls attended within target times is significantly lower in South East Wales than other regions in Wales.

"The latest figures (for the quarter to December 31, 2005) indicate that only 41 per cent of emergency calls were within the eight-minute Assembly target in Monmouthshire."

Other figures for Gwent were: Torfaen, 49 per cent; Blaenau Gwent, 45 per cent; Caerphilly, 54 per cent, Newport, 58 per cent.

"The minister failed to give a timescale for improvements to response times within South East Wales. He placed the responsibility for making improvements on the new (ambulance trust) management team," said Mr Graham.

Dr Gibbons has however told Mr Graham that the level of rapid response vehicle cover for Monmouthshire is being reviewed.

The Argus reported last week that the county currently has just one such vehicle, known as an RRV and driven by a paramedic, to respond to emergency calls if an ambulance is not available.

An Assembly-commissioned study has indicated the area should have ten.

Mr Graham said Dr Gibbons had indicated that RRVs would be instrumental in bringing about response time improvements in the region. "There is only one (which is in Monmouthshire), although the minister did explain this was under review," said Mr Graham.