Ambulance sector

Demand and activity

Urgent and emergency care pathways have been experiencing sustained high levels of demand. The ambulance service answered over 800,000 calls in June and has taken over 4.7 million calls since the start of 2024.

Ambulance demand for life-threatening injuries and illnesses (category 1) has been unwaveringly high for some time. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, in the period from August 2017 (when the data begins) to February 2020, category 1 incidents only went above 70,000 once (December 2019). There were on average 54,500 category 1 incidents each month in this period.

Since June 2021, monthly category 1 incidents have only dropped below 70,000 three times and for the last 12 months they’ve only dropped below 75,000 once. Demand for the most serious life-threatening conditions shows no signs of stopping. After the highest May on record in 2024, demand for category 1 incidents (life-threatening injuries and illnesses) remains high at 79,600, a record for June data. In fact, the average number of category 1 incidents since the start of 2024 is 79,500 – which is 25,000 more on average per month than the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since December 2018, monthly callouts for category 2 (emergency calls) incidents have been above 320,000 every month apart from November 2023, which shows the consistent high levels of demand the service faces. In the last 12 months, there have been at least 365,000 category 2 incidents each month, with highs of over 410,000 in December 2023. In June 2024, there were 377,000 category 2 incidents.