North East Ambulance Service becomes one of the fastest in the country
The ambulance service faced significant challenges in 2022/23. Since then, the service has made real, measurable progress and is now one of the best-performing ambulance services in the country.
NEAS now achieves one of the best response times across all 6 ambulance response programme standards. Category 2 response times improved by 6 minutes, with a 12-minute improvement at the 90th percentile — a significant safety improvement for the most serious calls.
The modern ambulance service is about getting patients to the right place, not just the nearest emergency department (ED). NEAS improved hear and treat rates by 3.1% and reduced conveyances to ED by 1.5%. Ambulance handover times also improved by 2 minutes 13 seconds, with handovers above 60 minutes falling from 4.5% to 2.7% reflecting the commitment of hospital partners in the North East to support the Trust.
53% of staff completed the most recent workforce survey — an 8% increase on the previous year. 91 questions showed improvement, with 28 showing significant positive change.
Success has come through clear priorities, strong teamwork at every level of the organisation, and investment across the whole operating model, not just more hours on the road.