Strokes: Ambulance Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of including strokes as a Category 1 ambulance call.
Answered by Karin Smyth
No such assessment has been made. NHS England’s guidance recommends ambulance services increase the clinical assessment of 999 calls, including increasing the proportion of Category 2 calls, which are those calls classified as an “emergency” and which include serious time-sensitive incidents such as strokes. Calls are clinically navigated, validated, and triaged in ambulance control centres to ensure the sickest patients are prioritised for ambulances.
NHS England's Emergency Call Prioritisation Advisory Group determines the appropriate ambulance response for various clinical situations and triage codes, and works in conjunction with the Clinical Coding Review Group, and the National Ambulance Service Medical Director's group, to ensure clinical guidance is up-to-date and effective.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →