Faster Ambulance Response Coming to East Midlands

The East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) will enhance its emergency response capabilities with an allocation of over £26 million in additional funding, expected by 2029. This significant investment is earmarked for the acquisition of approximately 40 more ambulances.

Furthermore, EMAS plans to recruit up to 400 new patient-facing staff members over the next three years, with a substantial number, nearly 200, to be in place by October 2026. This expansion is in addition to their standard recruitment efforts and aims to address the growing demand for services.

Officials state this funding, provided by local integrated care boards, will have a positive impact on patient care and is crucial for improving ambulance response times. This initiative seeks to ensure faster responses, particularly for category 2 emergencies like stroke and chest pain, and to move towards national response time standards. The service has recently seen improvements in response times despite facing challenges such as handover delays.