North-south divide opens up in ambulance services

Every ambulance trust in the south of England is missing the national category 2 response target so far this year, while all three northern trusts are inside it after a more sustained recovery.

The national target for 2026-27 is an average response of 25 minutes for category 2 calls, which include suspected strokes and heart attacks. NHS England data for April to August shows a national average of 29 minutes, almost a minute slower than in the same months last year.

North East Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (19m 13s), West Midlands Ambulance Service University FT (20m 42s), Yorkshire Ambulance Service Trust (24m 13s), and North West Ambulance Service Trust (24m 22s) are all under 25 minutes for the year to date.

However, those figures do not yet include winter. NWAS was at 24m 26s at the same point last year and finished 2025-26 on 27m.

South Western Ambulance Service FT (38m 41s), South Central Ambulance Service FT (32m 8s), London Ambulance Service Trust (31m 24s), and South East Coast Ambulance Service FT (27m 26s) are all outside the target, as are East Midlands Ambulance Service Trust (33m 59s) and East of England Ambulance Service Trust (32m 47s).

The gap has widened over the past year. South Central, South Western, and London were slower in April to August than in the same months of 2025, by 4m 40s, 4m 14s, and 1m 52s respectively, while NEAS and Yorkshire both improved by more than a minute.

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Source: HSJ, 5 October 2026