The new Red 1 ambulance response time definition: evaluating clinical impact

Rapid identification of patients with life-threatening conditions is the main priority for any ambulance telephone triage system. Historically there has been a focus on the identification of patients in cardiac arrest; however, the clinical benefits of early recognition of patients in peri-arrest could be considered equally important. An expanded definition of the highest priority response, Red 1, was introduced to identify patients who are critically unwell, at high risk of cardiac arrest, and who would benefit clinically from the fastest level of response from the ambulance service. An evaluation of the impact of the new Red 1 definition was completed in South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust during 2013. It demonstrated that the new Red 1 definition was more sensitive than the previous Red 1 definition in identifying patients in cardiac arrest and those at high risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The total number of patients who required resuscitation decreased by 11.7% under the new ...