News alert / Ambulance minimum service levels

Following consultation with employers, trades unions, charities and other representative groups, the Department of Health and Social Care has decided to proceed with introducing minimum service levels (MSLs) for ambulance services in England during strike action. The consultation, held between February and May, showed that while 76% of respondents disagreed with the principle of introducing legislative MSLs in the ambulance service, many recognised there were issues and risks associated with the existing approach to agreeing derogations on a voluntary basis.