Ambulance service

We provide an emergency service, 24 hours a day seven days a week. Our services include:

emergency ambulance and paramedics
transport for patients who need to travel overseas for treatment
patient transport services for patients to and from their appointment, day centres and inter-hospital transfers
responding to urgent and non-urgent calls
call handling for the out of hours GP service

We also provide voluntary services, such as:

Emergency response

When we receive a 999 call from a member of the public, our call handlers use a series of questions to determine what response would be most appropriate for each situation. A system of categories is used to do this which range from an immediate threat to life to less urgent calls.

These categories allow our Ambulance Control staff to prioritise calls based on clinical need.

The 4 call categories are as follows:

Category 1 (C1), potentially life threatening injuries and illnesses
Category 2 (C2), serious but non life threatening emergency calls
Category 3 (C3), urgent calls
Category 4 (C4), less urgent calls

The most serious prioritisation group (Category 1) must be responded to as quickly as possible to ensure life threatened patients get the fastest response.

999 calls are responded to by the nearest available ambulance or appropriate resource. Calls are received at the Combined Control Room (CCR) at Police HQ.

Community First Responders Scheme (CFR)

CFR is a voluntary scheme for people who provide life-saving first aid at the scene before an ambulance arrives. Volunteers undertake regular training sessions to maintain standards of practice. The training covers:

first aid
oxygen therapy
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
how to use a defibrillator

How to apply

You can email our Training Officer Paramedic or call on +44 (0) 1534 444711 for more information.

Ambulance Support Unit

The Ambulance Support Unit is a group of volunteers who:

support the Ambulance Service at major incidents
support St. John Ambulance

Volunteers undertake regular training sessions to maintain standards of practice.
You can email our Operations Manager or call on +44 (0) 1534 444722 for more information.

Voluntary car service

A volunteer group who transport non-emergency mobile patients who are not able to use public transport. Email our Operations Manager or call +44 (0) 1534 444722 for more information.

Contact us

For non-urgent calls, call us on +44 (0) 1534 444710 from 9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.

Comments, compliments and complaints

If you have any suggestions or comments about our services, we welcome your feedback.
Send us your feedback