AMBULANCE crews have been delayed in reaching critically-ill patients - because control room operators are struggling to get used to a new computer system.

The Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system was introduced by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service to speed up response times.

But in fact the number of ambulance crews reaching patients with life-threatening conditions within the required eight minutes actually fell. The delays are not the fault of paramedics and drivers - they are doing their utmost to reach patients in time.

Rather, it is those in the control room who are responsible for sending the ambulances on their way who are experiencing delays.

"The main contributory factors were continuing challenges in coming to terms with the change to the CAD in the York communications centre," admitted ambulance service operations director John Darley in a report.

This really is an astonishing admission. We are all for local health services investing in new technology if that will improve patient care. Presumably, once control room operators do learn how to use the new computers, ambulances will be despatched more speedily.

But surely, as York GP Dr David Fair points out today, the system should have been properly piloted so staff knew how to use it before it was brought online.

Patients who have had to wait longer for an ambulance because of the problems could include those with head injuries, heart attacks and convulsions, as well as victims of road accidents.

As Dr Fair said, if the new system wasn't piloted before going live, ambulance bosses have been guilty of irresponsible behaviour that put patients' lives at risk.