Ambulance sector

Incidents (data for May 2026) 

• There were 832,089 ambulance incidents this month. This is the highest figure for May since records began (August 2017). This is shown in Figure 3.  
  
  
• There were 82,666 category 1 incidents (life-threatening injuries and illnesses) and 407,809 category 2 incidents (emergency calls). 

Figure 3

The national ambulance response time targets are seven minutes for category 1 incidents and 18 minutes for category 2 incidents. As part of the plan to recover urgent and emergency care, NHS England adjusted the category 2 target to 30 minutes, on a temporary basis.  

• The average response time across England for category 1 incidents was seven minutes and 52 seconds compared with seven minutes and 40 seconds for April. This is slower than the seven minutes and 49 seconds in May 2025, and is still missing the national standard of seven minutes. The last time the standard was met was more than five years ago in March 2021. 
  
  
• For category 2 incidents, the average response time was 29 minutes and 13 seconds, compared with 24 minutes and 27 seconds in April. This is slower than the 27 minutes and 46 seconds in May 2025 but is within the 30-minute recovery target.
  
  
• There were 418,666 ambulance handovers where the handover time was known. The mean handover time was 28 minutes and six seconds, compared with 29 minutes and 25 seconds in May 2025.