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A phone-based triage system used by London Ambulance Service (LAS) has saved thousands of crew hours and helped the trust reach national response time targets, even during one of its busiest winters on record.
New data reveals that LAS’s ‘hear and treat’ model, where clinicians assess and direct care over the phone, played a key role in helping crews reach the most seriously ill patients faster. In March 2025, the trust met its national target for Category 1 incidents, and reduced average response times for Category 2 calls by more than four minutes compared to the same month the previous year.
Despite taking an average of 520 extra 999 calls a day during winter 2024–25, a 9% increase, crews were only transporting around 84 more patients to hospital daily compared to the previous year. The proportion of patients taken to hospital was lower overall.
“Despite the increasing demand on our service this winter, we have continued to focus on driving down the time it takes to get to our most seriously ill patients and reduce the number of patients we take to busy A&Es when other forms of care would be more suitable.
“We’ve been able to do this thanks to the innovative work of our colleagues at the Service and our NHS partners across the capital. This has helped Londoners get the right care that they need while freeing up our ambulance crews to respond to our sickest and most seriously injured patients.”
Daniel Elkeles, Chief Executive, London Ambulance Service.
More than one in five patients are now treated through ‘hear and treat’ – one of the highest rates in the country. In the past year alone, nearly 275,000 Londoners received clinical care over the phone, avoiding an unnecessary ambulance response or trip to hospital.
Clinicians working in LAS’s control room-based clinical hub assess callers and refer them to more appropriate services, including urgent care centres, pharmacies, mental health teams or self-care options at home.
“Given the pressure on health and care services across London, we need to send ambulances only where they’re needed and direct patients to the right care first time. ‘Hear and treat’ is a vital part of that strategy – alongside innovations like our mental health joint response unit and community cars.
“By maximising this approach, we’re releasing around 9,200 double-crewed ambulance hours each week – that’s 18,400 people hours – to respond to patients who need us most.”
Mike Ward, Deputy Director of Clinical Safety and Compliance, London Ambulance Service.
The service’s Integrated Care Coordination Hubs, developed in partnership with Integrated Care Boards and provider organisations, support this approach by offering joined-up oversight of available community and specialist resources.
Earlier this year, LAS’s clinical hub team received the Exceptional Team Award at the Ambulance Leadership Forum, hosted by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), recognising its role in delivering safe, efficient care in a high-pressure environment.
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