Responding to the release of new clinical quality indicators for ambulance trusts in England, the NHS Confederation's Ambulance Service Network director Jo Webber, said:

"These figures are part of the next step of improvement for ambulance services as they focus on outcomes for patients rather than solely on response targets.

"Getting to patients quickly will always be a vital part of the response ambulance services provide. However, they are also working with other NHS services and using the skills of their staff to offer better care and treat people more effectively.

"While it is probably too early to draw many comparisons between trusts as the data is still incomplete or covers too short a time period, these indicators will, over time, give people a more detailed picture of well their ambulance services are doing.

"Overall, we know that ambulance services are offering more care, more quickly than ever before. The next step is to focus on how well they are doing for patients."