plans for a more integrated 911 service and said improvements were already underway to make it more responsive.

She said a report carried out by Government into the running of the Island's emergency response service in May showed there was room for organisational improvement, but that the system worked well.

The report followed complaints that an ambulance had been delayed in attending the scene of a fight, where young father Dean Young was dying of stab wounds.

Friends and relatives of Mr. Young, who died in October of last year, said they had to repeatedly call for an ambulance to attend Parsons Road in Pembroke.

As a result, the Minister called for an investigation to be carried out but stipulated it should be into the system as a whole, rather than just alleged delays.

And this summer, The Royal Gazette reported that the review was complete and that it had revealed it took 20 minutes for the ambulance to reach Mr. Young.

And Ms Cox said then that although it was not a significant delay, there was still room for improvement when it came to organisation.

Ms Cox said at the time that the 911 service was likely to be made the responsibility of just one Ministry, as opposed to both Health and Home Affairs, as it is at the moment.

And yesterday, following questions from Shadow Health Minister Kim Young , who has called for the report to be made public, Ms Cox said the issue had not been forgotten.

The Minister read part of the report to the House, which was written by the review team. It read: "We are first and foremost confident in concluding that while no system or set of procedures is perfect, any failure on the part of the public to reach a 911 operator is hugely the exception and certainly not the rule.'' However, she said the report did indicate that there was no mandated authority to coordinate all of the agencies involved in the system.

And she said the absence of the authority was seen as a weakness.

"In addition, the report indicates that there is no legislative instrument providing any one Government agency with the mandate necessary to manage all of the components of an integrated emergency medical services system, as currently each participating agency is governed by its own service-specific legislation and policies.

"Therefore, a key recommendation contained in the report is the establishment of a single agency. ..with the appropriate mandate to develop, monitor, direct and audit a comprehensive...system for Bermuda.'' But the Minister told the House that there were significant financial, logistical, administrative and human resources issues involved and more work needed to be done.

She said the four agencies involved, including King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, the Fire Service, the Police Service and the Marine Rescue and Coordination Centre, had been asked to develop an action plan.

And she said when she had further information the public would be updated on the issue.

"In the meantime, the four agencies responsible for delivering the 911 service have adopted protocols to ensure more efficient inter-agency coordination, with a view to ensuring that there are no undue delays in responding to 911 calls.'' Mrs. Young said she was glad to finally know the details of the report.

She said: "With the increase in violence in the community, in particularly against women and children, it is of utmost importance that we can be sure of an immediate response when we call 911 in our time of need.'' She welcomed the news that inter-agency coordination would be improved.