Minister misled Parliament over ambulance crisis

A health minister incorrectly told the Commons yesterday “we have procured a contract” for surge support for ambulance services, despite the contract not having been awarded yet, HSJ has learned.

There are also doubts about two other points made by health minister Maria Caulfield in Parliament yesterday in a debate about the current high pressure on ambulance services.

She said: “We have procured a contract with a total value of £30m for an auxiliary ambulance service, which will provide national surge capacity if needed to support the ambulance response during periods of increased pressure. That capacity is there, should we need it.”

However, NHS England, which advertised the contract in May, confirmed to HSJ today that it “is yet to be awarded”.

Ms Caulfield was responding to an urgent question from Labour shadow health and social care secretary Wes Streeting about pressure on ambulance services and the heatwave. HSJ reported on Tuesday that all 10 major ambulance services in England were on the highest level of alert.

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Source: 14 July 2022