Nearly half of 999 patients don’t need major A&E treatment

Nearly half of patients who arrive at hospital in ambulances are being discharged without needing major care, according to data obtained by HSJ.

Experts said the research also revealed a “postcode lottery”, with patients more likely to be taken to A&E in some areas due to a lack of alternative settings.

The internal NHS England data has tracked how many ambulance patients were later discharged without any inpatient or “same day” emergency care, or transfer to another service, at different sites. These patients may have required hospital-based diagnostics, for example, or review from emergency clinicians before they could be sent away.

At 24 hospitals, more than 50% of ambulance patients are being discharged without going to an inpatient or ambulatory unit. The highest proportion was 85% at St Peter’s Hospital in Surrey.

It was at less than a third at other sites. This put the national average at 46%, according to data obtained by a Freedom of Information request.

There was a wide range of acuity levels among ambulance patients discharged without further serious care.

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Source: HSJ, 8 April 2026