WILTSHIRE Ambulance Trust has the worst record in England for reaching emergencies and it will only get worse if its resources continue to be drained, one front line worker has warned.

The service, which had its two-star rating slashed to zero last year, is reaching just 55 per cent of its 10,400 calls classified as immediately life-threatening within the Government target of eight minutes.

Ambulance chiefs say the figures, which are for the year up to March 2004, do not reflect the full picture.

They say following management changes and more investment, the service is on track to reach a figure of 70 per cent this month.

News of the appalling official figures from the Department of Health comes a year after chief executive Tim Skelton took office and pledged to improve the situation.

At the time, Mr Skelton blamed the problems on poor communication at the ambulance control centre in Devizes.

But one staff insider branded Mr Skelton's pledge 'lip service' and said the failings were due to dwindling resources, which are leaving staff demoralised.

Claiming that staff had been shocked and appalled by the figures, the key worker said: "Learning we are the worst performing service in England when everyone is working so hard is very demoralising for staff.

"We are caught up in a vicious circle where we are working 12-hour shifts, often without a break, to be told that we are under-achieving and that as a result, the Government is cutting our funding even further. The fact is that some nights there are 11 ambulances covering the whole of Wiltshire."

He added: "While most staff are angry that military First Response teams are being employed with limited training these volunteers are actually propping the service up and without them, more people would be dying."

First Responders are volunteers who provide back-up to ambulance crews.

The worker said: "It should be that if you are having a huge heart attack, a trained ambulance crew arrives to assist you.

"But at the moment, you may only get a First Responder who can only give you oxygen and keep you comfortable until you can be treated.

"The only way to increase response times is to increase resources we need more ambulances and more staff we shouldn't be relying on military volunteers."

But a statement from Wiltshire Ambulance Service maintained that figures are improving. "This is the average performance for 12 months for April 2003 to March 2004 and does not tell the whole story," said Paul Gates, director of operations.

"The trust's performance in the autumn of 2003 was below 50 per cent. However, this performance is now in excess of 65 per cent and on track for 70 per cent in June 2004.

"This is a dramatic turnaround in performance due to the hard work of our staff.

"These improvements have occurred since the appointment of our new senior management at the trust. Additional investment has been made in frontline crews, along with far more effective utilisation of existing crews."

Mr Gates added: "There have also been changes in the way that staff work in the new joint emergency control centre at

Devizes. There is now a dedicated dispatch desk, focusing on responding to the life-threatening emergencies.

"The trust recognises that there are still significant improvements to be achieved, however, excellent progress is being made despite substantial increases in emergency calls. The challenge is much greater in Wiltshire, where the Commissioners of Health Services are under severe financial pressure."

Mr Gates added that a review was now under way to look into ways of the service working with its partners to respond to the continuing demand.