First reported 9 Jan 2014•Latest report 2 Feb 2026
Definition
What this concern includes
Includes recurring deficiencies in ambulance-service capacity, including insufficient funded ambulances, crews, emergency-response vehicles, staffing or resource resilience where these limit the service's ability to cover emergency calls and meet operational demand.
Not included
Excludes delayed ambulance attendance, dispatch, call triage, radio communication and hospital handover failures when ambulance capacity itself is not the deficient condition.
Excludes generic recruitment, retention or funding concerns unless they directly result in insufficient ambulance-service capacity for emergency calls.
Excludes a single unresourced call or isolated response delay where no continuing ambulance-capacity deficiency is asserted.
Reports
58
Distinct published reports
Individual concerns
62
A report can raise multiple concerns
Date range
2014–2026
First to latest report issue date
Stated actions
208
Described in published responses
Reports over time
Reports over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
Department of Health and Social Care32
NHS England11
Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust8
Association of Ambulance Chief Executives4
East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust4
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust4
NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board3
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust3
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust3
Betsi Cadwaladr University LHB2
NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board2
NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board2
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust2
Welsh Government2
Aneurin Bevan University LHB1
Ministerial department32
NHS trust27
Executive non-departmental public body11
Integrated care board11
Local health board5
Health-sector membership body4
Devolved government2
Health professional body2
Type not available2
Airport operator1
Air transport operator1
Clinical commissioning group1
Community interest company1
Coronial office1
English unitary authority1
Concerns and responses across reports
Only concerns grouped under this recurring concern are included. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.
North Wales (East and Central)
Concerns raised1
Unavailability of emergency ambulance resources
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.4
Action
Increase remote clinical support to prioritise available resources and improve safety-netting during significant pressures.
Stated by Welsh Ambulance Services NHS TrustStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 3 February 2026.
Action
Enhance staff knowledge, skills, competencies and available alternatives to minimise unnecessary hospital transport.
Stated by Welsh Ambulance Services NHS TrustStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 3 February 2026.
Action
Increase ambulance resources by completing roster changes and improving attendance levels.
Stated by Welsh Ambulance Services NHS TrustStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 3 February 2026.
Action
Offer more treatment at home or outside hospital in partnership with Health Board colleagues.
Stated by Welsh Ambulance Services NHS TrustStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 3 February 2026.
Inner North London
Concerns raised1
Insufficient ambulance service capacity causing delays in ambulance responses
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.9
Action
Publish the 2025/26 Urgent and Emergency Care Plan to improve ambulance response times and patient flow.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Publish the 10 Year Health Plan for England, setting a trajectory towards prevention and reduced urgent-care demand.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Allocate national capital funding for urgent treatment centres, same-day emergency care expansion and new ambulances.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Provide national growth funding to ambulance services to support activity and service improvement.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Continue coordinating with commissioners, integrated care boards, providers and ambulance services to deliver urgent and emergency care improvement plans.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Introduce hospital handover-delay mitigation by directing crews to hospitals with greater capacity and cohorting patients when necessary.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Develop and refer patients to alternative care pathways, where appropriate, to avoid conveyance to hospital.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Maintain and regularly update the performance recovery plan in response to demand and system pressures.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Action
Implement dedicated clinical support linked to dispatch to identify incidents requiring prioritisation of clinical resources.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 21 January 2026.
Manchester South
Concerns raised1
Insufficient ambulance service capacity to meet demand
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
Action
Provide nearly £450 million in capital investment for same-day emergency care, mental health crisis assessment centres and new ambulances.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 29 August 2025.
Action
Reduce ambulance handovers to a maximum of 45 minutes and average Category 2 response times to 30 minutes.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 29 August 2025.
Hertfordshire
Concerns raised1
Continuing delays in provision of pre-hospital emergency care
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
Action
Publish the 2025/26 Urgent and Emergency Care Plan with measures targeting ambulance response, handover, emergency department performance and same-day care.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 May 2025.
Action
Set out priorities for developing neighbourhood health services that deliver more care at home or closer to home.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 May 2025.
Action
Ask local systems to systematically implement six core neighbourhood-health components, including measures to reduce discharge and ambulance handover delays.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 19 May 2025.
Teesside and Hartlepool
Concerns raised1
Insufficient ambulance service availability or resources for timely patient attendance
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.10
Action
Prioritise improvements to Category 2 ambulance response times and urgent and emergency care services.
Stated by NHS EnglandStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Work with commissioners, integrated care boards, acute providers and ambulance services to implement plans improving ambulance handovers.
Stated by NHS EnglandStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Provide over £40 million in additional ambulance-service funding to increase vehicles on the road and strengthen clinical advisory services.
Stated by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Establish an integrated urgent-care clinical assessment service providing multidisciplinary telephone triage and onward referral support for 111 and 999 callers.
Stated by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Continue implementing system-wide improvement programmes with ambulance and acute hospital providers to improve ambulance response times during 2025/26.
Stated by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Coordinate multi-agency ambulance-handover improvement and transformation work across the integrated care system.
Stated by NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care BoardStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Publish the 2025 mandate to NHS England prioritising improved A&E and ambulance waiting times.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Publish NHS planning guidance requiring action to improve Category 2 ambulance response times and reduce avoidable dispatches, conveyances and handover delays.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Publish lessons learned from winter urgent and emergency care pressures.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
Action
Put in place improvements to urgent and emergency care services ahead of the next winter.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 20 February 2025.
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
Action
Set out lessons learned from winter and planned urgent and emergency care improvements before the following winter.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 10 December 2024.
Action
Implement urgent and emergency care improvements identified through winter learning before the following winter.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 10 December 2024.
Berkshire
Concerns raised2
Unavailability of sufficient emergency ambulances to meet demand
Chronic understaffing of emergency ambulance response services
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
Action
Increase ambulance capacity through workforce growth and additional vehicles.
Stated by NHS EnglandStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 14 November 2024.
Action
Improve hospital patient flow and reduce ambulance handover delays through discharge and provider-coordination measures.
Stated by NHS EnglandStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 14 November 2024.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
Position
NHS England is responsible for responding on regional service improvements and actions being taken by the ambulance trust.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareRedirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
Northamptonshire
Concerns raised1
Failure to maintain sufficient emergency ambulance resources to meet response standards
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
Action
Maintain the increased ambulance capacity delivered during 2023/24.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 7 August 2024.
Action
Continue regular regional review meetings with EMAS on support needed to improve response times and care quality.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 7 August 2024.
Manchester South
Concerns raised1
Unavailability of timely ambulance response capacity during periods of demand
This report raised 5 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
Action
Increase ambulance capacity through the Urgent and Emergency Care recovery plan.
Stated by NHS EnglandStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 7 June 2024.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.2
Position
Concerns outside NHS England’s national policy or programme remit are not addressed in this response.
Stated by NHS EnglandOutside remitThe respondent said that this matter was outside its role or authority.
Position
NWAS, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, and the ICB should provide information on concerns assigned to them.
Stated by NHS EnglandRedirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
Manchester South
Concerns raised1
Delays in paramedics attending Category 2 calls due to staff and emergency vehicle shortages
This report raised 1 other concern. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Responses linked to these concerns
Each statement is shown once, even when linked to more than one concern.
Actions described in response An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.5
Action
Publish the delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency care services.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 March 2024.
Action
Maintain additional ambulance capacity funded to expand capacity and improve response times during 2024/25.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 March 2024.
Action
Deliver new ambulances and specialist mental health vehicles.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated in progressThe respondent said that this action was in progress when they made their response on 19 March 2024.
Action
Increase ambulance workforce capacity through investment in NHS ambulance and support staff.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated completedThe respondent said that this action was complete when they made their response on 19 March 2024.
Action
Boost paramedic numbers by up to 15,600 under the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareStated plannedThe respondent said that this action was planned when they made their response on 19 March 2024.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
Position
NWAS is best placed to respond on specific local actions to improve ambulance response times.
Stated by Department of Health and Social CareRedirects responsibilityThe respondent said that another organisation was responsible for deciding or taking action.
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Includes recurring deficiencies in ambulance-service capacity, including insufficient funded ambulances, crews, emergency-response vehicles, staffing or resource resilience where these limit the service's ability to cover emergency calls and meet operational demand.
