THE county's ambulance trust has been rated "good" but concerns have been raised about emergency and urgent care.

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) in Oxfordshire was praised for its leadership and staff were described as "caring and compassionate".

But the Care Quality Commission said it was failing to meet response targets for 999 calls and raised concerns about staffing shortages. 

It also said "essential training" was not being provided in some cases and that callbacks from clinicians to 111 calls were taking 53 minutes on average, with some patients waiting six hours. 

In an announcement this morning, SCAS chief executive Will Hancock welcomed the overall findings but warned the service faced "unprecedented demand".

He added: "Whilst we have demonstrated excellence in several areas, there are also areas where we need to continue to make improvements.

"The CQC recognised that the service is operating in an environment of unprecedented demand; yet despite this we are committed to finding a way to manage that demand to enable us to meet response times and ensure that patients are responded to safely and appropriately.

"There were pressures on the service from the demand which were affecting staff morale and work-life balance and this was further compounded by the national shortage of paramedics.

"The CQC acknowledged that we are actively recruiting and developing all grades of staff to improve this.”

The rating followed inspections and unannounced visits in May.

Despite the concerns raised, the ambulance trust was praised for its response to increasing demand. 

It was also said to have "a highly innovative culture and staff were encouraged to suggest new ‘bright ideas’ to improve service delivery".

SCAS was formed in July 2006, after the merger of the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the Oxfordshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust and part of the Two Shires Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

It provides NHS ambulance services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire to about four million people.