New figures revealed by NHS have claimed that East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) is England's worst performing ambulance service. In 2010-11, EMAS's Category A response rate was 72.4% whereas the average response rate in the nation was 74.9%.

An EMAS spokesman said that the results of the report were extremely disappointing and has blamed severe weather for it. The report has ranked South Central as best service with a response rate of 77.5%.

The report has revealed that Yorkshire, North West, East of England and Great Western services all have fallen below the national average. The Deputy Chief Executive of EMAS, David Farrelly, said that EMAS had reported a
10% increase in 999 calls in the last year, from 186,643 calls in 2009-10 to 205,248 calls in 2010-11.

EMAS covers Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire and handles more than 600,000 calls every year. The service was ordered to improve in 2010, after the data of NHS showed that it’s falling below the national average.

The EMAS has also said that the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) was the second worst performing trust in 2010-11 for life- threatening cases.