An ambulance driver working in any big city in the UK could spend a quarter of the working day responding to 999 calls from people who have no real need of an ambulance. They may have cut their finger or lost their tablets; in the winter, time wasters may have a simple cold; in the summer, a case of sunburn.

Last week, a small change was made which will make a huge difference to the hard-pressed emergency services. Patients will no longer have an automatic right to an ambulance. Instead, the service will be able to send paramedics by car to assess the situation or talk about options, such as a trip to the GP. This reform is long overdue. The concern has been that, inevitably, a patient will die if a 999 operator fails to recognise that a caller is seriously ill. But changing the system - to send crews only to those who actually need them - will save lives (though we may never get to read about them) because of better use of ambulance time.

Our debt to the emergency services was well illustrated last week when flash floods in Cornwall and Scotland, which could so easily have turned to tragedy, provided an example of fine planning and rapid reaction. Over three days, 200 people were airlifted to safety from roofs, cars and trees, thanks to the RAF's Sea King helicopters. As Prince Charles pointed out, speed, professionalism and bravery saved lives. But none of these is sufficient without the right systems in place to support those at the frontline of the emergency services.