East Midlands Ambulance Service response times improved in March, but the trust remains above its planned trajectory and national standards, board papers show.
The latest Integrated Board Report, presented to the EMAS Trust Board on 5 May, says Category 2 response times improved in March 2026 compared with February.
Category 2 calls include serious conditions such as strokes and chest pain, where patients may need urgent assessment, rapid transport or treatment at the scene.
The trust recorded a Category 2 mean response time of 33 minutes and 4 seconds in March, down from 37 minutes and 29 seconds in February and 49 minutes and 43 seconds in January.
However, the year-end average for 2025/26 was 38 minutes and 58 seconds, which was nine minutes and 18 seconds above the annual plan of 29 minutes and 40 seconds.
The report says Category 2 performance remains above the planned trajectory and that all response times continue to be above the national standard.
Category 3 and Category 4 response times also remained significantly above national standards, although both improved further in March.
Average 999 call pick-up times continued to meet the seven-second standard and remained stable year to date.
Hospital handover performance also improved in March after a spike in January, with the average pre-handover time falling to 28 minutes and 47 seconds.
Hours lost to hospital handovers reduced again compared with February and were at their lowest level since July 2025. Despite this improvement, the trust’s year-end handover position remained above plan, largely because of increased hospital demand and prolonged handover delays during winter.
The report says available double-crewed ambulance hours exceeded plan in March and were also above plan for the full 2025/26 financial year. EMAS recorded 172,322 double-crewed ambulance resource hours in March, compared with a plan of 170,602. Across the year, it delivered 2,028,216 hours, around one per cent above plan.
However, clinical staffing levels in the Emergency Operations Centre remained significantly below plan. In March, the trust had an average of 112 whole-time equivalent clinicians in the control room, against a plan of 161. The year-end average was also 112, compared with a planned 161.
The report says staffing levels deteriorated in March compared with February and that 2025/26 performance continued to reflect a substantial shortfall against the planned establishment.
Demand also remained a pressure. Incidents in March were above plan following two consecutive months below plan, and face-to-face activity remained above plan. The report says this reflected a lower proportion of incidents being closed by telephone response, known as hear and treat, which deteriorated further in March and remained below plan.
For 2025/26, incidents and face-to-face responses were above plan, while the proportion of incidents closed through hear and treat was lower than expected. Conveyance rates were also above plan in March and increased compared with the previous month.
The trust’s Annual Business Plan for 2026/27 says sustained improvement in Category 2 response times is the “overriding national requirement” for the year, reflecting patient safety risk and regulatory scrutiny.
It says EMAS was the worst-performing ambulance service for Category 2 responses during 2025/26, with an average response time of 38 minutes and 57 seconds for the year. The plan says this is not sustainable and requires a more focused, performance-led approach that directly increases ambulance availability and improves response times.
The plan also says demand pressures facing EMAS are structural rather than temporary, with the trust serving a growing and ageing population with high levels of deprivation, health inequality and long-term conditions.
EMAS says its 2026/27 plan will focus on improving operational performance, reducing variation, increasing ambulance availability and strengthening productivity. The plan is based around two priorities: improving how quickly and appropriately the service responds, and creating a supportive and safe workplace for staff.
In his Chief Executive’s Report, Richard Henderson said EMAS was working towards a new Category 2 plan for 2026/27, with an annual mean response time target of 29 minutes and 22 seconds.
He said that, as of 27 April, the trust’s year-to-date average Category 2 response time was 29 minutes and 53 seconds, an improvement compared with April 2025.
Mr Henderson said hospital handover performance had continued to improve, although it remained above the expected level within the plan, with April tracking around two and a half minutes above plan.
He added that EMAS would continue to work with Integrated Care Boards and acute hospitals on the consistent implementation of the 45-minute handover process, while increasing its focus on internal efficiency and productivity through a new executive-led Performance Assurance Meeting.
Board papers also show that commissioners have agreed the trust’s 2026/27 contract, including a risk-sharing arrangement linked to planned levels of hospital handover delays. Additional funding has also been confirmed to increase operational capacity across the East Midlands over each of the next three financial years.
