As the holiday season gets underway visitors to Pembrokeshire, as well as local residents, can rest assured that the ambulance service in the area is hitting new heights. The last five years have seen a massive rise in 999 calls, but changes in the ambulance service have meant that the standard of cover has also improved dramatically. In February ambulances in the area were reaching 54 per cent of life-threatening emergency calls in eight minutes against a Welsh Assembly Government target of 60 per cent. By March, that had risen to 64 per cent and that upward trend has continued so that in the last two weeks despite the crowds flocking to the picturesque county, response times have twice exceeded 80 per cent with a high of 88.24 on Friday, April 27. So far this month, the trend has continued at over 60 per cent and one of the reasons for the upturn is the introduction of a new Rapid Response Vehicle which has enabled paramedics to reach more Category A  - or life-threatening - incidents within the target time of eight minutes. The Ford Focus came into operation only in March, but already it is making quite an impact on service delivery, and that is expected to be even more noticeable during the peak summer period when hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers flock into the area. Though a Nissan response vehicle has been available for the past six years it has not been fully utilised, whereas the Ford Focus is in constant use. And not only is the vehicle equipped with state-of- the-art technology, but at the wheel is an emergency care practitioner (ECP), or super- paramedic. Phil Thomas, acting locality officer for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust in Pembroke Dock, said statistics showed that the number of Category A calls in the area had risen more than in any other part of Wales. "We can only put that down to the holiday season getting busier and more people taking their holidays here instead of overseas, and the growth of some very large industries such as the LPG terminal," he said. "We have put extra resources into the area over the past three years and the new RRV is already making a great contribution to the standard of cover," said Phil. "We were by no means a failing locality - in fact we have always done reasonably well - but the new RRV means that wee are now getting to far more incidents within four or five minutes," he said. At present, both RRVs are based in Pembroke Dock, but during the peak holiday season the Ford Focus is expected to be centred on the Tenby - Saundersfoot area. For the past two years, that area was as busy as Swansea, with its large residential population. Though some people may be surprised when a car turns up instead of the ambulance they expected, Phil Thomas gave an assurance that fully crewed ambulance would also be sent to life-threatening incidents such as cardiac arrests. "But, of course, it is not always the case that an ambulance is required," he said. Director of Ambulance Services for Central and West Wales Andy Roughton said: "To provide the highest level of patient care it is essential to compliment traditional frontline ambulance responses in alternative ways. "Rapid Response Vehicles are one such alternative response which greatly enhances the level of care we can provide." Wales Director of Ambulance Service Mike Cassidy said the fleet of RRVs was having a particularly striking impact in rural areas. "An RRV will get to an emergency within the eight- minute target time in 85 per cent of cases, compared to a figure of 45-50 per cent for an ambulance," he said. The emergency care practitioners on board are able not only to handle the emergencies, but also advise on and arrange the appropriate ongoing treatment. "They are highly qualified and trained in a whole range of clinical interventions, so we are offering patients the best possible chance of survival," he added.