London Ambulance Service hails fastest response times in over three years

"New figures published by the LAS on Thursday revealed response times for ambulance crews reaching category one patients in August were the fastest since April 2022. Paramedics managed to get to the scene within six minutes and 40 seconds, marking a major success for the service, despite growing demand. This was down 20 seconds compared to August last year."

"Response times for category two call emergencies including strokes, difficulty breathing and chest pains were also the best achieved by the country's busiest ambulance service since May 2021. In August, category two response times were on average 25 minutes and 52 seconds compared to 30 minutes and 18 seconds in August 2024. The improved response times come despite the number of 999 calls remaining consistently higher than before the Covid Pandemic with the service receiving 20,000 more calls this August compared to the same month last year."

"These figures are testament to the incredible efforts of everyone at LAS to improve the care we offer to patients, from our clinicians on the road and people in 999 control rooms, to those repairing our ambulances or getting them stocked for front-line shifts. We need to keep up this momentum and continue to adopt innovative ways of working, both inside LAS and with our NHS partners, to ensure we are offering our patients the care they need"

Ambulance crews reached category one patients in August within six minutes and 40 seconds on average, the fastest since April 2022 and 20 seconds quicker than August last year. Category two responses averaged 25 minutes and 52 seconds in August, improved from 30 minutes and 18 seconds in August 2024 and the best since May 2021. The service handled 20,000 more 999 calls this August versus the same month last year, with overall call volumes higher than before the Covid pandemic. Fleet upgrades include over 150 new vehicles, a younger fleet, out-of-hours mechanic workshops and 200 more frontline shifts. Hear-and-treat phone triage reduced unnecessary hospital conveyances and helped speed responses. There is a call to maintain momentum and adopt innovative working practices with NHS partners to sustain improved patient care.

Read at www.standard.co.uk