Category 1 Ambulance Response Times in England
Category 1 calls are life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest or someone not breathing. Real NHS England AmbSYS data for May 2026, across 11 ambulance trusts. Target: 7 minutes mean / 15 minutes 90th-centile.
What is the Category 1 ambulance response time in England?
In May 2026, the England mean Category 1 ambulance response time was 7 minutes 52 seconds, with a 90th-centile of 13 minutes 58 seconds, across 82,666 Category 1 incidents, per NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators (AmbSYS). Category 1 calls are life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest or someone not breathing. Gera re-dates this monthly.
| Trust | Mean response | 90th centile | Incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 6 minutes 12 seconds | 10 minutes 40 seconds | 3,564 |
| North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 6 minutes 55 seconds | 11 minutes 46 seconds | 10,810 |
| London Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 7 minutes | 11 minutes 55 seconds | 15,471 |
| West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust | 7 minutes 54 seconds | 13 minutes 54 seconds | 9,856 |
| Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 7 minutes 55 seconds | 13 minutes 54 seconds | 7,600 |
| South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 8 minutes 9 seconds | 15 minutes 16 seconds | 6,129 |
| East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 8 minutes 17 seconds | 15 minutes 29 seconds | 8,593 |
| Isle of Wight NHS Trust | 8 minutes 24 seconds | 13 minutes 49 seconds | 167 |
| East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 8 minutes 47 seconds | 15 minutes 18 seconds | 7,519 |
| South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 8 minutes 49 seconds | 15 minutes 59 seconds | 4,011 |
| South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 9 minutes 22 seconds | 17 minutes 11 seconds | 8,946 |
Other ambulance call categories
Category 1 ambulance response times: FAQs
- What is the Category 1 ambulance response time in England?
- In May 2026, the England mean Category 1 ambulance response time was 7 minutes 52 seconds, with a 90th-centile time of 13 minutes 58 seconds, across 82,666 Category 1 incidents. Category 1 calls are life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest or someone not breathing. Source: NHS England AmbSYS, May 2026.
- What counts as a Category 1 ambulance call?
- Category 1 ambulance calls are life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest or someone not breathing. The response standard is a mean of 7 minutes and a 90th-centile of 15 minutes. In May 2026 the England mean was 7 minutes 52 seconds.
Not a 999 emergency? Talk to a doctor now
Category 1 calls are life-threatening, such as cardiac arrest or someone not breathing. For a life-threatening emergency always call 999. For a non-urgent concern, a UK-registered GeraClinic clinician can assess, triage and escalate β often the same day.
Contains public sector information published by NHS England and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: NHS England β Ambulance Quality Indicators (AQI), AmbSYS (May 2026, published 11 June 2026).