Ambulance service below standard

The ambulance service that covers the Newark area is set to miss national standards for its emergency response times.

Health bosses have forecast that East Midlands Ambulance Service will fall below the standard of responding to 75% of the highest priority calls within eight minutes this year.

Figures showed the service, which has come under criticism in recent months for failing to respond quickly to calls in Newark, had so far achieved 73.6%.

An EMAS spokesman said the severe winter weather had affected their response times.

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