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Thursday, October 16, 2008, 23:00
The chief executive of South Western Ambulance Service, Ken Wenman, said the good ratings given to the trust for its quality of services and use of public money represented a real improvement for patients.
No ambulance trust in the UK was rated excellent in both categories.
Mr Wenman said: "The results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our professional staff and I thank every single person – from backroom to frontline – for it.
"We believe patients deserve the very best and we will now redouble our efforts to ensure next year's results reflect public expectations of our service."
The Healthcare Commission's annual health check is the most comprehensive assessment of NHS services, with trusts rated on a four-point scale from poor to excellent.
One rating covers the quality of services, measured against Government standards and national targets, and the other relates to the use of their resources.
South Western Ambulance Services NHS Trust scored top marks in five out of the six key patient areas, standards of care, management, keeping the public healthy, the dignity and respect afforded to patients and safety and cleanliness.
It met all the Government's core standards and was rated as excellent for its adherence to new national targets. It missed achieving full compliance with targets by failing just one element, a non-life threatening response time, by 1.4 per cent.
