MORE than three-quarters of the most serious 'red' calls for emergency ambulances in Gwent received an on-scene response inside eight minutes for the seventh month in a row in August.

Out of 258 'red' calls with a on-scene response, 202 arrived within the standard time.

The performance was mirrored across Wales, where the 'red' call response inside eight minutes was 78.7 per cent.

Since the new clinical response system was introduced for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust in October 2015, the target - that a minimum 65 per cent of 'red' calls receive an on-scene response inside eight minutes - has been met with increasing ease.

This holds true for all areas of Wales, not just Wales as a whole, though there are differences in performance.

For instance, in August, the highest performance against the eight-minute standard was 84.3 per cent (Cardiff & Vale University Health Board area), while the lowest - while still within target - was 69.3 per cent (Hywel Dda UHB area).

So far however, there has been no indication that the Welsh Government will raise the target.

'Red' calls - triaged as immediately life-threatening - made up just 3.8 per cent of all 999 ambulance calls in Gwent in August. Wales-wide the rate was 4.5 per cent.

'Amber' calls (serious but not immediately life-threatening) make up the biggest percentage of 999 calls.

There were 4,572 in Gwent in August (66 per cent of all calls). The all-Wales rate last month was 65 per cent.

The remainder of calls are triaged as 'green' or non-urgent. These can often be managed by other health services, or by a clinical telephone assessment.

During August, close to one-in-eight 'red' calls in Gwent received an on-scene inside one minute, and more than half (53.9 per cent) within five minutes.

The one-minute response for Wales as a whole was closer to one-in-six.

Some, including the Welsh Conservatives, would like to see the breadth of injuries and illnesses classified as 'red' expanded, as there are concerns that it may be too narrow.