Ambulances Delayed Over an Hour for 3,500 High-Priority Calls Last Year
Last year, ambulances were delayed over an hour for nearly 3,500 high-priority calls, including 13 top-acuity PURPLE calls. The National Ambulance Service cited growing demand and reclassification of calls as factors. Despite investments, targets for timely responses were often missed, especially in December.
Last year, ambulances took over an hour to respond to nearly 3,500 high-priority calls. This included 13 PURPLE calls, the highest acuity level, and 3,481 RED calls, the second-highest priority. One RED call experienced a delay of six hours and 55 minutes, while five others exceeded four hours.
The National Ambulance Service (NAS) cautioned that call statuses can change, meaning initial lower-priority calls might be reclassified, affecting response time accuracy. The NAS aims to respond to 75% of PURPLE calls and 45% of RED calls within 19 minutes. In 2025, the PURPLE target was met in 71% of cases, dropping to 62.5% in December. For RED calls, 44% were met within 19 minutes, falling to 37.4% in December.
The NAS attributed delays to sustained and growing demand, responding to approximately 450,000 emergency calls in 2025, a 5% increase from the previous year. This reflects broader health system pressures like an aging population. The NAS noted significant investment in budget, staffing, and fleet to address demand, emphasizing that response time targets prioritize the most clinically urgent cases, with no maximum targets beyond initial thresholds.