Ambulance staff faced their busiest time ever this winter – but Macclesfield patients get help quicker than elsewhere in the region.

Figures from the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) show that the service missed its target for reaching emergency patients in Macclesfield before Christmas.

It should reach at least 75 per cent of immediately life-threatening emergency cases such as cardiac arrest – known as Red 1 calls – in eight minutes under government targets.

In November, NWAS missed this target by attending 69.23 per cent of Macclesfield’s Red 1 calls in the time.

But there was record demand on ambulances and hospitals across the country this winter.

In Macclesfield, health bosses urged patients to go to A&E only if absolutely necessary.

A NWAS spokesman said: “The winter period presented the service with an unprecedented level of demand and was the busiest the trust has seen since it formed in 2006.”

And the picture in Macclesfield is better than elsewhere, with an average response time for Red 1 calls from April to December of 5 mins, 49 secs – 83.33 per cent within target. There were 138 Red 1 calls in that time.

The average is a minute and a half quicker than the North West average of 7 mins, 18 secs – that’s 69.9 per cent within eight minutes which misses the government target.

The Macclesfield average this year so far is down on the year before, when 91.11 per cent of ambulances reached patients in the target time – an average response of 5 mins, 43 secs.

In 2012/13, ambulances reached patients in an average time of 5 mins, 58 secs – that’s 85.71 per cent within target. Each year, ambulances got to patients quicker in Macclesfield than in the North West as a whole.

The picture is also better than in neighbouring Wilmslow, where ambulances take longer to get to patients.

The NWAS spokesman said: “One of the reasons for this is because there is a hospital in Macclesfield. Once an ambulance crew clears from a call at the hospital, they are assigned to an incident nearby and not from the area they are based. When an emergency 999 call is received in our control room, it is the nearest available resource that is sent to the scene.

“Our resources are not limited to the area around their base station. We have the capacity to move resources to react to demands.

“If vehicles in Macclesfield and Wilmslow were busy, resources from nearby areas are able to provide additional support to ensure there is a vehicle available to attend to emergency calls.”

Macclesfield has an ambulance station with one ambulance available 24/7, two part time ambulances, two intermediate care ambulances and a rapid response vehicle.

NWAS faces targets for ‘Red 2’ calls too, which are also life threatening but less immediate.

From April to December, there were 1,823 Red 2 calls in Macclesfield and ambulances got to 85.52 per cent of those within eight minutes, an average response of 5 mins, 47 secs.

In 2013/14, there were 2,313 Red 2 calls, and 87.85 per cent of those were attended in eight minutes.