Council ambulance probe launched

An inquiry is to be launched into ambulance response times in Wiltshire.

In the most recent government ratings, the county's ambulance service received no stars because of a poor response time to 999 calls.

During one week in October 2003, only 54% of the most urgent, or Category A, calls were answered within eight minutes. The government target is 75%.

Now Wiltshire County Council has formed a task group which will examine the service's "ability to improve".

The group will question health professionals, and is keen to hear personal experiences and views.

The final report will be published before the end of the year.