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Ambulance Services: Standards

Asked by Steve DarlingLiberal DemocratDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled Answered 17 January 2025UIN 23529

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce ambulance waiting times (a) in the A&E queue and (b) for Torbay and South Devon NHS foundation trust.

Answered by Karin Smyth

Ambulance response times and ambulance handover times have been below the high standards that patients should expect in recent years, including at the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundational Trust.

The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including ambulance response times, but we must be clear that there are no quick fixes.

We are determined to turn things around through investment and reform. My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £25.6 billion of additional healthcare funding over the next two years, and we will set out a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.

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