MORE lives could be saved if city councillors give the go-ahead to a new ambulance base in York.

York St John University is hoping to turn a ground floor office in Windmill Lane, off Hull Road, into a 24-hour stand-by point for paramedics.

If another satellite station at Acomb Library is also granted planning permission, it would be the third permanent base for ambulance crews in York. The city's main ambulance station is in Dundas Street, but this is expected to move to a new site in the next 12 months to make way for City of York Council's new offices.

The aim is to have ambulances based throughout the city in a bid to bring down response times and meet tough new Government targets.

York paramedic Glen Gears, who represents the local branch of Unison, said: "These satellite stations are the way forward if we're going to meet the new targets.

"They allow the ambulance crews to be better placed to respond to emergencies quicker and improve patient outcomes."

Response times to 999 calls are currently measured from when the caller provides details of the incident location, its nature and their phone number.

But from April 1, the clock will start ticking as soon as the call is connected, meaning paramedics will have less time to meet the eight-minute target time for life-threatening calls.

Mr Gears said: "I think they are very tough challenging targets, and everybody is going to be doing all they can to try and ensure that we meet them."

Twenty new jobs have been created in the York Communications Centre, and other investments made by Yorkshire Ambulance Service include new vehicles, technology, phone systems, and SatNav for vehicles. Last month paramedics in North Yorkshire met 70 per cent of Category A "life threatening" calls within eight minutes.

Mark Squires, of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: "The sites of the new standby points are based upon analysis of patient demand. They will be positioned around York to ensure a high level of coverage at all times."