Yorkshire Ambulance Service met the standard for responding to emergency calls in eight minutes for the first time since the target was introduced in 2008, new figures reveal.

It is also the first time every ambulance trust in England has met the standard, Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) figures show.

All 12 trusts achieved the standard in 2011-12 by ensuring at least 75 per cent of serious (category A) calls were responded to in the allotted time; from the call being received at the control room to an emergency response vehicle arriving at the scene.

This is the first time all trusts have met the standard over a full year since its launch in 2008.

In 2008-09 Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) reached 69.4 per cent of category A calls in eight minutes. In 2009-2010 it managed to reach 70.8 per cent. Even though this was an improvement on the previous year it was still the worst record in the country. In 2010-11 the response rate had gone up to 73.7 per cent and in new 2011-12 it reached 75.7 per cent.

The national average is now at 76.2 per cent, compared to 74.9 per cent in 2010-11 and 74.3 per cent in 2008-09, according to today’s report, Ambulance Services, England; 2011-12.

YAS also achieved another national standard, that for at least 95 per cent of category A responses, an ambulance vehicle capable of transporting the patient should arrive at the scene within 19 minutes.

David Whiting, chief executive of Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted that the trust achieved the red eight-minute response target of 75 per cent in 2011-12.

“We finished the year at 75.72 per cent, which clearly reflects the commitment and hard work of so many people across the Trust.

“It shows that patient care is improving and we are reaching our most seriously ill and injured patients quicker than we ever have before.

“Response times are not the only measure of the service we provide to our patients and we are also very proud of the high quality clinical care given by our staff.

“We are committed to developing services across the region.”