Stringent tests expose more faults in ambulance service

A picture of declining performance in ambulance services and mental health trusts is revealed by the star ratings released yesterday.

Of 31 ambulance services, almost half saw their performance decline over the year while two improved. Out of 88 mental health trusts, 14 received the top rating of three stars and more than a third scored the lowest rating of one or no stars.

Matt Tee, project director for star ratings at the Commission for Health Improvement, said ambulance performance had improved over five years and added: "The measured performance has certainly declined ... Maybe what we are seeing is that [the services] are evaluating their performance better."

A spokeswoman for Department of Health said it was working on recovery plans with ambulance services to help them forward. "Their performance has to be seen in conjunction with a 16 per cent increase in the proportion of emergency calls responded to in eight minutes over the last year, when they have been dealing with more calls than ever," she said.

Charities said the poor performance for mental health trusts showed that mental health was still a "Cinderella" service. A spokeswoman for the schizophrenia organisation Rethink said: "Money that should be spent on mental health is still not getting through. It would seem it is being siphoned off for other services."

The Department of Health said the number of mental health trusts to receive a rating of three stars had grown to 14 this year from four last year and said the rise reflected the "focused hard work" of staff. The spokeswoman added: "We know there is still a way to go."

England's 304 primary care trusts, which run the GP service, were given star ratings for the first time this year. The results showed 45 scored three stars and 22 no stars.