EMERGENCY ambulance response times performance in Monmouthshire have topped the 60 per cent target for the first time in years.

The improvement during February, in what has recently been one of poorest performing areas for the ambulance service in terms of reaching the scene of category A calls inside eight minutes, was mirrored in other parts of Gwent too as response times began to improve following a testing winter period.

There were 4,439 emergency calls in Gwent during February, a slight increase on that for the same month last year.

In Monmouthshire, 63.6 per cent of category A emergency calls were reached inside eight minutes, up from just 42.1 per cent in January.

Just as significantly, it was also a huge increase on the 45.9 per cent recorded for February last year.

In Torfaen too, where performance until last summer was regularly among the worst in Wales, 64.6 per cent of category A emergency calls were reached inside eight minutes.

Performance also improved in Newport (68.6 per cent) and Blaenau Gwent (71.3 per cent), the latter being the best figure recorded for that area.

Performance dipped in many parts of Wales during December and January, as snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures made road conditions hazardous for ambulance crews.

But despite this, response times remained much better than they had been during December 2008 and January 2009, when some of the worst response times performances ever were recorded.

In Gwent, the introduction of extra staff and vehicles, particularly Rapid Response Vehicles, triggered an improvement in figures last July. February's figures indicate that performance is picking up again following the poor winter weather, and the aim will now be to sustain that improvement.