Category 2 Ambulance Response Times in England
Category 2 calls are emergency, such as a suspected stroke or heart attack. Real NHS England AmbSYS data for May 2026, across 11 ambulance trusts. Target: 18 minutes mean / 40 minutes 90th-centile.
What is the Category 2 ambulance response time in England?
In May 2026, the England mean Category 2 ambulance response time was 29 minutes 13 seconds, with a 90th-centile of 59 minutes 25 seconds, across 407,809 Category 2 incidents, per NHS England Ambulance Quality Indicators (AmbSYS). Category 2 calls are emergency, such as a suspected stroke or heart attack. Gera re-dates this monthly.
| Trust | Mean response | 90th centile | Incidents |
|---|---|---|---|
| North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 18 minutes 30 seconds | 36 minutes 51 seconds | 20,356 |
| West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust | 20 minutes 29 seconds | 40 minutes 35 seconds | 44,782 |
| Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 23 minutes 57 seconds | 49 minutes 13 seconds | 39,334 |
| North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 24 minutes 51 seconds | 48 minutes 24 seconds | 48,288 |
| South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 25 minutes 54 seconds | 52 minutes 46 seconds | 34,669 |
| Isle of Wight NHS Trust | 28 minutes 6 seconds | 58 minutes 51 seconds | 1,226 |
| East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 29 minutes 47 seconds | 62 minutes 26 seconds | 45,414 |
| London Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 32 minutes 21 seconds | 68 minutes 45 seconds | 62,070 |
| South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 34 minutes 12 seconds | 65 minutes 44 seconds | 27,510 |
| East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust | 36 minutes 27 seconds | 72 minutes 16 seconds | 39,245 |
| South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust | 40 minutes 24 seconds | 83 minutes 16 seconds | 44,915 |
Other ambulance call categories
Category 2 ambulance response times: FAQs
- What is the Category 2 ambulance response time in England?
- In May 2026, the England mean Category 2 ambulance response time was 29 minutes 13 seconds, with a 90th-centile time of 59 minutes 25 seconds, across 407,809 Category 2 incidents. Category 2 calls are emergency, such as a suspected stroke or heart attack. Source: NHS England AmbSYS, May 2026.
- What counts as a Category 2 ambulance call?
- Category 2 ambulance calls are emergency, such as a suspected stroke or heart attack. The response standard is a mean of 18 minutes and a 90th-centile of 40 minutes. In May 2026 the England mean was 29 minutes 13 seconds.
Not a 999 emergency? Talk to a doctor now
Category 2 calls are emergency, such as a suspected stroke or heart attack. 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).