New figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) show in 2012-13 almost two million patients were treated at the scene by ambulance services without needing onward transportation, a 10 per cent rise on last year’s figure (1.81 million).
Of these patients more than one in three (34.2 per cent) had been assessed by the call handler as falling into Category A, which meant their condition was potentially life threatening.
Today’s Ambulance Services, England: 2012-13 report shows control rooms received 9.08 million emergency calls in 2012-13, a rise of more than half a million (6.9 per cent) on 2011-12 and one in three of these was recorded as Category A (32.5 per cent, or 2.95 million).5
The national standard response percentages for Category A calls are for vehicles to arrive on scene within:
- 8 minutes by an emergency response vehicle in 75 per cent of cases
- 19 minutes by a fully equipped ambulance in 95 per cent of cases
Today’s report shows that for ambulance services in England in 2012 -13:
- The national average for responding to Category A Red 1 incidents with the target time of eight minutes was 74.0 per cent. Seven of the 12 ambulance trusts reached the national standard of 75 per cent.
- The percentage of Category A calls (Red 1 and Red 2) that resulted in an ambulance arriving within 19 minutes was 96.0 per cent.
- The West Midlands Ambulance Service responded to the largest proportion of Category A Red 1 calls within eight minutes at 78.9 per cent and the East Midlands Ambulance Service responded to the smallest proportion (70.0 per cent).
HSCIC Chair Kingsley Manning said: “Our figures highlight a substantial rise in the number of patients who were treated entirely at the scene by ambulance services.
“This data is of significance given the recent debates about pressures on accident and emergency departments, how NHS resources are used and the best way of delivering patients excellent care”.
