Response time targets
National ambulance response standards measure how ambulance services respond to 999 calls.
National ambulance response standards measure how ambulance services respond to 999 calls.
Following one of the largest ambulance clinical trials in the world, NHS England introduced new ambulance response standards across the country, known as the Ambulance Response Programme (ARP). The changes were introduced to help ambulance services reach the most critically ill patients more quickly and ensure that response time targets apply to all patients, helping reduce delays for those in lower priority categories.
These standards were introduced at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) on 22 November 2017.
Call prioritisation
When a 999 call is received, trained call handlers assess the information provided by the caller and prioritise the call based on clinical need, ensuring that the most serious and life-threatening incidents receive the quickest response.
Categories and response times
Please note: As part of the plan to recover urgent and emergency care, NHS England has currently adjusted the Category 2 target to a mean average of 30 minutes.
| Category | Response | Average response time |
|---|---|---|
| Category 1 | For calls to people with immediately life-threatening and time critical injuries and illnesses. | These will be responded to in a mean average time of seven minutes and at least 9 out of 10 times before 15 minutes. |
| Category 2 | For emergency calls. Stroke patients will fall into this category and will get to hospital or a specialist stroke unit quicker because we can send the most appropriate vehicle first time. | These will be responded to in a mean average time of 18 minutes and at least 9 out of 10 times before 40 minutes. As noted above, NHS England has currently adjusted the Category 2 target to a mean average of 30 minutes. |
| Category 3 | for urgent calls. In some instances, patients in this category may be treated by ambulance staff in their own home. These types of calls will be responded to at least 9 out of 10 times before 120 minutes | These types of calls will be responded to at least 9 out of 10 times before 120 minutes. |
| Category 4 | for less urgent calls. In some instances, patients may be given advice over the telephone or referred to another service such as a GP or pharmacist. | These less urgent calls will be responded to at least 9 out of 10 times before 180 minutes |
Ambulance Quality Indicators (AQIs) are national measures used across all ambulance services in England. They help show how well we are responding to patients, delivering safe care, and supporting positive outcomes.
We aim to align with the Government’s Handbook to the NHS Constitution for England, and our response times are monitored through the supply of Ambulance Quality Indicators metrics monthly, as they are set out in the Ambulance Systems Indicators specification.
Performance for our Trust, alongside all other NHS Ambulance trusts, is published openly and can be accessed by anyone via the Ambulance Quality Indicators page. We monitor these standards internally at a National, Trust, Divisional, Regional, and local level.
These national standards require all ambulance trusts to:
NHS England has produced an ‘easy read’ NHS England document about the new standards, which explains the ambulance response standards and the reasons for the changes following the University of Sheffield report carried out by academics University of Sheffield.