27/08/2014 BBC Wales Today

Some patients could be taken to hospital by taxi instead of

an ambulance under a scheme launched by the Welsh Ambulance Service.

It's already been rolled-out in parts of south-east Wales to

It comes as new figures show almost half of life-threatening 999 calls

are not reached within the target eight minutes.

As a paramedic, Richard's time is precious.

It is all about getting the most seriously ill people to hospital But

not all patients who dial 999 need the high-tech equipment on board an

ambulance or a paramedic at their side for the journey to casualty.

So from now on, he will be calling patients with more minor

This is not about replacing ambulances with taxis.

This is about patients with minor injuries or illnesses or somebody

travelling to hospital for a blood test who has been

assessed by a paramedic or their doctor as being suitable, travelling

You might have an elderly, frail person, somebody with dementia

You are not going to put them in a taxi.

There are exclusion criteria for certain groups of patients.

Vulnerable patient such as the elderly or such as somebody

with dementia would not be suitable to be transported by taxi.

Those patients will continue to travel with ambulance crew,

Taxis will be organised from the ambulance control room

They are already used to ferry people to hospital

for routine appointments but this new development is said to

bridge the gap between that provision and situations where

people need the speed and facilities only an ambulance can provide.

The Unite union said it hadn't seen the details but the staff they

represent believe the only real answer is more ambulance crews.

This is only going to be a sticking plaster solution, in my view,

The long-term solution is more crews, more vehicles

on the roads themselves to be able to deliver the service.

The service across Wales has improved in the last month.

It is doing worse than this time last year, figures out today show.

While ambulances should respond to 65% of immediately life-threatening

calls within eight minutes, in July the figure was 58.3%.

In June, 53% of ambulances arrived at the scene within the target time.

But the ambulance service says it has received more category A calls,

the most serious type of call, in July than at any time

Maintaining and renewing the Welsh ambulance fleet is expensive.

Today the Welsh Government has announced it is to spend ?4 million

The Welsh Ambulance Service says this idea of using taxis where it

can will help get the best use out of these high-tech vehicles and the

South Wales Police say they're satisfied there are no implications

for the force, after it was revealed their Deputy Chief Constable was

Policing Commander for the Rotherham area between 2006 and 2010.

South Yorkshire Police have come under fire after an inquiry found

at least 1400 children in the town were sexually exploited

Matt Jukes contributed to the Jay Report, which noted there was

evidence police were more pro-active by 2007, and successful prosecutions

Tributes have been paid to a man from Carmarthenshire who died

21-year-old Jay Davies had been travelling in the country for three

The cause of his death is still being investigated.

A woman has been arrested after two children were rescued from a burning

house in Ruabon, near Wrexham in the early hours of this morning.

Neighbours helped a 10-year-old girl and

A 30-year-old local woman was arrested

at the scene on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

The eyes of the world will be firmly on Wales during the NATO

summit next week, and the UK Government says we should cash-in.

More details were announced today about an international investment

conference that ministers say will take advantage

It's all part of a push to showcase Wales as a place to do business.

Three years ago, hundreds of jobs went when the Bosch factory closed

Now it has been polished up by new owners, a high-tech manufacturing

firm with plans to expand, a success story that government

Vince Cable chose this factory to announce plans to open the door for

Compared with when I first came into office in 2010, the atmosphere

There is a lot of job creation, the economy is doing better, there

Next week, the Celtic Manor in Newport will host President

In November, foreign businesses will be invited to the same venue to hear

why they should invest in new technology in Wales.

Last year Wales attracted 79 foreign investment projects.

That is the highest level in 24 years.

Three years after buying the old Bosch site, manufacturers

have more than 100 staff here, making machinery for everything

When the previous owners of this site pulled out it became

But the current occupiers say they have plans to expand

and the government hopes it can create the conditions for other

This is a business on the right track.

But the government's opponents say we haven't got

the balanced recovery that the Westminster coalition promised.

It has been the longest-lasting recession

Where is the growth in the economy coming from?

My fear is that we are seeing a return to the boom-and-bust

policies of growth in house prices and consumer spending, centred

The NATO summit can't be a one-off, Mr Cable says.

He is hoping it will leave a lasting legacy for Wales,

so that more companies come here and emulate this one.

The Wales Coastal Path has given a real economic boost to communities

At a conference, the Royal Geographical Society said

the rest of the world could learn from the project,

In its first year the path is reported to have brought

One of the things we saw today at the conference was that researchers

from other countries, Holland, Iceland, Germany among others, into

this session because they were really interested in how they could

promote such a coastal path in their own countries. Swansea city will

host Everton while Cardiff City welcomed Bournemouth. Beginners will

be played in one month. Let's get the weather now, here's

Derek. Hello,

looks like the weather is going to improve next week thanks to high

pressure but that is some way off. In the meantime, the next few days

are changeable with some rain, showers, gusty winds but I can

promise some sunshine as well. Rain spreading north eastwards

through tonight, that will clear, drying up during the early hours,

the wind easing Into tomorrow morning,

most places will start dry, But some showery rain will spread

into Pembrokeshire, Across the rest of the UK,

some rain across Scotland and North East England will clear,

a lot of dry and bright weather tomorrow, some sunshine but showers

in the West heavy in places, will Some sunshine in Northern Ireland

with a top temperature of 18 Celsius,

a warm 23 Celsius in London. In Wales tomorrow afternoon,

some showery rain in the south-east and the marshes, that will clear

and then the whole country will A breeze from the south west with

a high of 19 Celsius in Flintshire. Into Friday, low-pressure

near Scotland so an autumnal look to the weather with some rain,

showers and strong winds. A breezy, blustery day on Friday,

with some rain and showers, Some drier,

brighter spells in the mix as well. As for the weekend,

fewer showers on Saturday, Sunday the best day of

of the weekend, Hopefully some sunshine at times

as well. Next week it lookslike we have high

pressure on the way, so the weather settling down

and warming up as well. That's Wales Today,

from all of us here, good night.