Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps his Department is taking to (i) reduce ambulance waiting times; and (ii) increase availability of ambulances, in rural areas.
Minister of Health: Reducing ambulance waiting times and improving ambulance availability across Northern Ireland, including in rural areas, remains a key priority for my Department.
In August 2025, to improve ambulance turnaround and reduce delays at Emergency Departments (EDs), HSC Trusts, NIAS and regional partners agreed to introduce a maximum two-hour ambulance handover threshold. My Department issued regional guidance with the expectation that systems would work collectively to eliminate handovers exceeding this threshold by 1 December 2025 as part of wider winter resilience planning.
To further address delays, the Release to Rescue model was introduced on 27 April 2026. This enables ambulance crews, where clinically appropriate, to transfer responsibility for patients awaiting care in EDs and return to responding to emergency calls, thereby increasing ambulance availability.
While improving ambulance response times remains a priority, it is important to recognise that sustainable improvements depend not only on ambulance service capacity but also on wider improvements in patient flow throughout the health and social care system. My Department continues to monitor performance closely with NIAS and HSC Trusts, including through regular reviews of handover delays and ambulance availability, to identify emerging issues and agree mitigating actions.
NIAS, in partnership with all HSC Trusts and my Department, will continue to pursue a whole-system approach to address these challenges, reduce delays and improve outcomes for patients across Northern Ireland. In respect of rural areas, NIAS operates a regional deployment model designed to ensure ambulance cover is available across Northern Ireland, including rural communities. Ambulance resources are dynamically deployed using demand and performance data to maximise availability and maintain the safest possible response arrangements.
NIAS remains committed to ensuring equitable access to emergency care regardless of geographic location and continues to work with my Department to assess service demand, workforce requirements and fleet capacity across all areas.
ENDS
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