AMs have expressed their concern at figures published last week which reveal that the Welsh Labour Government's ambulance response time target was missed by fifteen per cent in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area. In March 2014 only 49.9 per cent of ambulances arrived on the scene in response to an immediately life-threatening call within eight minutes, while the Welsh Government's target is 65 per cent . The target was missed in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen, with the lowest response figure in Blaenau Gwent, where only 41.6 per cent of ambulances met the target. The figures also show that 21 people in Monmouth waited over half an hour for an ambulance during the timescale in the report, and AMs have expressed that this is simply not acceptable. Nick Ramsay, AM for Monmouth said, "These figures clearly highlight the problems we are facing with ambulance response times in Monmouth. Ambulance teams are hardworking but clearly overstretched and there is something going on if the Government's own times are not being met. "Monmouth residents in particular have expressed their concern and distress about ambulances failing to respond promptly to an emergency call. We all deserve better. "I shall again be urging the Welsh Government to deal with this issue. People in Monmouthshire should be entitled to a prompt and efficient ambulance service." These concerns were echoed by Mohammad Asghar, Assembly Member for South Wales East, who said, "I am very concerned at the latest figures which reveal that less than half of ambulances responding to life-threatening calls in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area did so within eight minutes." "The Welsh Government must address this problem and make the resources available to the Health Service to improve patient care and speed up responses."