St. George's and Sandys will have first rate emergency services -- as early as next year, Government promised yesterday.

The pledge was made by Donald Scott, newly installed permanent secretary of Health and Social Services.

He said efforts were being made to ensure personnel first on the scene of an accident were properly trained.

Mr. Scott was responding to an article in Thursday's Royal Gazette in which Opposition politicians criticised Government for reneging on a promise to provide the west end with its own ambulance.

However, Mr. Scott stressed Government was addressing the matter fully.

At the moment, he said, St. George's and Sandys were being looked at because both ends would be affected when new procedures were put in place.

"The Fire Service is really leading the point on this,'' he explained. "The point is not really to provide an ambulance. It is to provide an emergency response that the Fire Services would handle.'' Both the Port Royal and Clearwater substations would have this emergency response capacity once the programme was installed, he said.

"The planning and preparation are at a pretty advanced stage right now,'' he continued, "and we are expecting the launch of the new system early in 1998 presuming that everything between now and then goes according to plan.'' Right now the communications protocol -- which needed to be free of problems -- was being worked out, he said.

"We are also making sure that all personnel are properly trained and certified and capable of stabilising trauma victims.

"That really is key,'' he added. "We really want to make sure that the early response team is able to have that person stabilised so that when the transport vehicle arrives, they can be taken to hospital.'' The entire issue of emergency services for the outer reaches of the island has been constantly debated, especially among residents of those areas.

Despite Government's promise two years ago that west end residents would have their own ambulance, none has surfaced.

In 1995 Tourism Minister and MP for Southampton West David Dodwell promised that the West End would soon have its own ambulance.

He said the ambulance would be at the Port Royal Fire Station. Bermuda Fire Service personnel with a paramedic, would answer the calls first instead of hospital staff.

Currently, an ambulance from King Edward VII answers the calls to the West End.