NWAS response to this morning's story

999 or emergency calls are categorised as serious and immediately life threatening, serious but not immediately life threatening and neither serious or life threatening. Each category has an annual performance target and the Trust works hard with local communities, particularly in rural areas where performance is challenging, to develop initiatives of benefit to the communities it serves.

A different prioritisation system is in place for Urgent Calls – the means by which GPs and other healthcare professions are able to book ambulances for patients who need admitting to hospital.

Following their assessment of the patient, GPs can request an urgent response between 1 and 4 hours. The time requested by the GP is that in which the ambulance should arrive at the patient's residence.

All callers are always advised to call again if the patient's condition changes so that the appropriate level of response can be allocated. Calls can be upgraded to emergency calls requiring lights and siren by the GP at any time, dependent on their assessment of the patient's condition. Where possible, if we are unable to get an ambulance to the patient within the time requested by the healthcare professional we will telephone to apologise for the delay and get an update on their condition.