RUNNING an ambulance service is not like organising the buses, a parcel delivery firm or, dare we say it after yesterday’s debacle, picking up the rubbish bins.

There will always be variables and complications in the medical cases paramedics face.

And we need to remember that on the whole our frontline paramedics do a fantastic job serving the public in often high-stress situations.

But there is something clearly wrong with the management of South Central Ambulance service because it cannot be right that some parts of our county face such poor response times.

SCAS claims it is down to a rise in the number of calls, but that can’t be the sole reason. The fall in service delivery in December varies wildly across the county. SCAS can’t credibly claim there’s been a disproportionate rise in calls in West Oxfordshire compared to Oxford, for example.

SCAS has recognised there is an issue and is buying more ambulances, but it must acknowledge a postcode lottery of service is unacceptable.

Someone suffering a heart attack in Carterton deserves the same lifesaving response as someone in Marston.

It is a difficult task but it is what SCAS’ executives are paid to deliver.