The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) achieved its fastest average response times for emergency calls in almost five years during March.
The figures for last month show an average response time across the region of under 30 minutes for Category 2 emergencies – such as chest pain or stroke symptoms – at 28 minutes 15 seconds. This compares to an average of 32 minutes and 25 seconds a year earlier and is the best performance since May 2021.
According to NHS targets set in 2017, ambulance trusts should respond to Category 2 calls in 18 minutes on average and respond to 90% of Category 2 calls in 40 minutes. In January 2023, an additional objective was added to respond to Category 2 calls in 30 minutes on average.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust has improved response times
The trust’s Category 1 response time in March – for patients with life-threatening injuries and illnesses, specifically cardiac arrest – was eight minutes and nine seconds, compared to eight minutes and 19 seconds in March 2025.
The NHS national standard sets out that all ambulance trusts must respond to Category 1 calls in seven minutes on average and respond to 90% of Category 1 calls in 15 minutes.
EEAST has focused on reducing the amount of time ambulances are off the road, being repaired or maintained by investing in a new fleet.
Neill Moloney
The trust has also expanded its clinical assessment service in its emergency operations centres, recruiting more clinicians who can treat less seriously unwell patients over the phone.
Around 18% of all 999 calls EEAST receives are now treated over the phone, freeing up ambulances for those patients who genuinely need one.
Neill Moloney, chief executive officer, said: “These latest figures are great news for patients in the east of England, as they show our ambulances are responding in the fastest time for almost five years.
“This is down to the sheer hard work and dedication of our ambulance crews, control room staff and support services who are ensuring our ambulances are on the road as much as possible.
“I am incredibly proud of everyone at EEAST who is playing a part in delivering outstanding patient care, and I am determined to keep up this momentum.”
The improvement comes on top of recent NHS figures showing a 9.8% growth in EEAST’s productivity – one of the highest for an ambulance trust in the country – which led to faster response times over winter despite one of the busiest winters on record.
EEAST placed last in the NHS’s latest performance league table.