Written question asked by Catherine West (Labour) on Wednesday, 13 July 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 15 July 2022. It was answered by Maria Caulfield (Conservative) on Thursday, 21 July 2022 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Ambulance Services: Government Assistance

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what additional support his Department is providing to NHS ambulance services during extreme heat in the UK.

Answer: Ambulance trusts receive continuous central monitoring and support from the National Ambulance Coordination Centre. NHS England wrote to all National Health Service trusts further action to ensure ambulances are not held for longer than 30 minutes as patients are transferred. This includes moving patients awaiting an inpatient bed from the emergency department to increase capacity. In addition, NHS England has allocated an additional £150 million in 2022/23 to support improvements to response times through additional call handler recruitment and retention.

Secondary information