AACE has unveiled its new five‑year strategy, setting out a clear and ambitious roadmap supporting the future of NHS ambulance services across the UK.
Developed through extensive engagement with ambulance staff, chief executives, chairs, directors and wider stakeholders, the strategy defines AACE’s remit, purpose and priorities for the years ahead, reflecting the collective aspirations of the sector at a pivotal moment for urgent and emergency care.
At the heart of the AACE strategy is the long‑term vision for the ambulance sector, developed with all member organisations, that recognises both their enduring responsibilities and their rapidly evolving role within the wider health and care system.
AACE’s strategic purpose reflects this direction: to champion NHS ambulance services as responders to emergency and urgent health needs, and as system navigators and coordinators of care.
AACE Managing Director Anna Parry said:
Ambulance services are no longer defined solely by emergency response.
Every day, our clinicians and call handlers deliver a wide range of urgent care in the community, acting as connectors across the entire health and care landscape.
Our strategy recognises that reality and sets out how we will work with the sector to lead the shift towards more integrated, preventive and digitally enabled care.
The strategy outlines five priority areas for 2026 – 2030: improving patient care, strengthening financial and regulatory enablers, developing people and leadership, accelerating digital transformation, and deepening sector collaboration.
By 2030, success will be measured through tangible improvements against clinical, operational and corporate standards, including the eradication of hospital handover delays, enhanced clinical quality, a sustainable workforce and demonstrable progress in reducing health inequalities.
Emergency response to life‑threatening conditions and major incidents remains the core statutory function for all ambulance services, however, it represents only one component, and a small percentage of the sector’s daily activity. Ambulance services increasingly support patients with urgent care needs both remotely and face‑to‑face, working across every interface of the health and care system.
Playing a part in both the provision of (and navigation to) care for those with urgent care needs through different response models, helps ensure that an emergency response is available to those who need one, when they need one, through preservation of that resource.
This unique position – operating at the start and the heart of urgent and emergency care pathways – places ambulance services in a critical, leading role. Building on work with NHS Providers and the NHS Confederation, AACE’s 2024 long‑term vision highlighted the potential for ambulance services to do even more for patients, support system partners and drive greater integration across urgent and emergency care.
That vision aligns closely with the Fit for the Future: 10‑Year Health Plan for England (2025) and the ambitions of devolved health systems across the UK.
Together, these frameworks reinforce three fundamental shifts shaping the future of healthcare: moving care from hospital to community, accelerating the transition from analogue to digital, and shifting the focus from sickness to prevention.
The AACE five-year strategy advocates for ambulance services as essential system leaders in delivering these shifts. Ambulance services contribute vital roles at national, regional, system and neighbourhood levels as emergency responders, virtual and mobile urgent care providers, as well as being coordinators and navigators of patient journeys.
To achieve this strategic purpose for the sector, the strategy sets out three overarching ambitions: for ambulance services to be recognised as reliable providers of high‑quality care; respectful employers that prioritise leadership, wellbeing and safe resourcing; and collaborative partners that play a central role in integrated urgent and emergency care delivery.
AACE’s membership offer underpins these ambitions through three core functions: connecting the sector through networks and national programmes; producing clinical guidance, frameworks and organisational development support; and advocating for ambulance services through policy influence, stakeholder engagement and a strong independent media voice.
The new AACE five-year strategy 2026-2030 is here, while more information about AACE’s work and the ambulance sector vision is available here.
