AMBULANCES in Herefordshire are reaching seriously ill patients faster than ever.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had got to 89.9% of cases within eight minutes since April.
The national target rate is set at 75%.
Locality director Derek Laird described it as good news for patients with life-threatening conditions and said it was down to the hard work of staff.
The result had been achieved despite more stringent conditions.
Before April, the time started to count after the call handler confirmed the number the caller was ringing from, the address of the emergency and the nature of the problem.
Since April, the clock starts the moment the 999 call is put through to the ambulance control room.
This means the target time is cut by up to 90 seconds.
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