WALES' health minister has announced a shake-up of the country's ambulance service.

Mark Drakeford told AMs today that the service is to be clinically focused with the Welsh Government to publish data on a wider range of response times than just the eight-minute target.

The move could pave the way for shorter targets for people suffering from heart attacks and strokes.

Patient transport services could also be removed from the services' emergency responses.

Mr Drakeford issued his statement in response to the review of Welsh ambulance service by Professor Siobhan McClelland.

The minister said officials will work with the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust and others in the NHS to develop a new set of indicators "that provide an intelligent suite of clinically informed targets and standards".

He said there was wide agreement across the Assembly that the eight minute target should not be seen as the only measure of ambulance performance.

But in accepting a point made by Tory AM Darren Miller at an Assembly debate on the review, Mr Drakeford said he understood the importance of maintaining information relating to the target as a way of comparing Wales with other UK nations.

Mr Drakeford said a timetable would need to be agreed for patient care services to be taken out of the emergency response side of ambulance services.

He has asked chief executives of local health boards to consider the practicalities of achieving this, working with the ambulance trust and staff representatives.

Further details would be provided in July.

Mr Drakeford also said he saw empowering and developing frontline staff as a priority, saying allowing staff to make a wider range of clinically safe decisions at scene would reduce unnecessary trips to hospital.

He said funding had already been set aside for 2013/14 to enable a number of trust technicians to undertake additional training.

Mr Millar AM, Shadow Minister for Health, said: “Being able to compare Welsh ambulance response times with the services being delivered in other parts of the UK is crucial in recognising necessary improvements and raising standards.

"The Welsh Government now needs to implement these recommendations," he added.