21 patients died after heatwave ambulance delays

Twenty-one patients died after delayed responses from an ambulance service during June’s heatwave amid a huge spike in serious calls, board papers show.

A report to the board of South Central Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SCAS) for its meeting this week said the trust had issued duty of candour letters in 39 cases from the heatwave.

Of these, 21 were recorded as deaths and nine as severe harm. All 39 involved delays: 36 were delayed arrivals at the scene, and three were delayed backup responses.

The trust’s chief nurse, Helen Young, said that it was not yet determined that the delays were a contributory factor in each death, but the trust was committed to investigating and improving patient care from any learning from the cases. 

A separate quarterly patient safety report to the same meeting said SCAS escalated to a major incident in June “due to extreme weather conditions and worsening performance leading to patient harm”.

SCAS declared a critical incident on 25 June, after the Met Office issued a red extreme heat warning covering most of its area – which covers parts of the south coast, and counties west and north west of London – and a major incident the next day. It remained in a business continuity incident until 30 June.

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Source: HSJ, 3 November 2026