FIGURES just released show that the response time for ambulances in Monmouthshire have worsened in December, showing a drop of six per cent.

This means that only 57.6 per cent of ambulances arrived within the statutory eight minutes from a call, the lowest figure that the Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust has recorded since April last year.

Monmouth Assembly Member, Nick Ramsay, has called the decline in the service "appalling", and has called on the Welsh Government to take action. He said: "These are shocking figures which will cause serious concern to my constituents.

"I have received many complaints, particularly from Monmouth residents, about ambulances failing to respond promptly to emergency calls and the distress this has caused. People in Monmouthshire should not have to wait any longer for an efficient ambulance service."

He added: "In too many cases this is quite simply a matter of life and death. I've been assured in the past that the situation was turning the corner, but these figures are clearly going in the wrong direction.

"I will again be calling on the Welsh Government to take action to address this important issue in order to safeguard the lives of people living in rural Monmouthshire."

The figures place Monmouthshire as the seventh worst in Wales for response times, with Blenau Gwent the worst at 44.7 per cent.

In response to the figures, Mike Collins, director of service delivery at the Welsh Ambulance Service said: "We took 37,323 emergency calls in December, up by 2,959 calls from the previous month.

"The urgent healthcare system across Wales faces unparalleled pressure, and an ageing population and more people with a long term condition means demand on our ambulance service is ever increasing.

"We are working with our health board colleagues to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. Advanced Paramedic Practitioners also provide a wider range of specialist healthcare at the scene of an incident, or at a patient's home."

It is now two years since a petition was first sent to the Welsh Assembly calling on them to urgently review the ambulance provision for Monmouthshire, in the light of the closure of the Monnow Vale Minor Injuries Unit.

•Have you been the subject of an extended delay to the arrival of an ambulance? If you have, then please contact the Review editorial team on 01594 841113, or email to revieweditor@ tindlenews.co.uk.