The London Ambulance Service (LAS) is reaching patients faster than it did a year ago, according to newly released NHS England figures.

In July 2025, the service reached ‘category two’ patients—those with urgent but not immediately life-threatening conditions such as strokes, breathing difficulties, and chest pains—eight minutes quicker than in July 2024. ‘Category one’ cases, which include life-threatening emergencies like cardiac arrest, were reached around 30 seconds faster on average.

Jason Killens, LAS chief executive, said the improvement was “a testament to the hard work” of operational staff, despite what he described as a “challenging backdrop.”

Busier summer, faster responses

The service has faced some of its busiest weeks this summer. In July 2025, call handlers answered 191,797 emergency calls—about 12,200 more than the same month last year. That’s roughly 400 additional calls per day, a rise of almost 7%, partly due to the hot weather.

LAS aims to reach category one calls in under seven minutes. Last year, the average was seven minutes and 25 seconds; this July, it fell to six minutes and 56 seconds.

Killens credited the gains to several operational changes, including a faster system for gathering equipment before dispatch, closer coordination with hospitals to speed up patient handovers, and more extensive use of phone assessments to direct patients to the most appropriate care.

In July alone, LAS clinicians treated 27,500 patients over the phone—up from 22,700 the previous year—helping to keep pressure off already busy hospitals.

“We’ve worked hard to get to our sickest patients even quicker,” Killens said. “There’s still more to do, but these results show that our approach is making a real difference.”