Ambulance handover to emergency care
Record information that is handed over when care is transferred from ambulances to emergency departments to ensure fast, effective sharing of information. Making this information available to emergency care will improve continuity of care.
Contents
About this standard
- Publisher
- NHS England
- Publication version
- 1.0.0
- Status
- Active
Show definitions of statuses
Active. Active standards are stable, maintained and have been approved, assured or endorsed for use by qualified bodies.
Deprecated Deprecated standards are available for use and are maintained, but are being phased out, so new functionality will not be added.
Retired standards Retired standards are not being maintained or supported and should not be used.
- Standard type
- Information standards
Show definitions of standard types
Collections. A Collection is a systematic gathering of a specified selection of data or information for a particular stated purpose from existing records held within health and care systems and electronic devices.
Extractions. An extraction is a type of collection that is pulled from an operational system by the data controller and transmitted to the receiver without additional processing or transcription by the sender.
Information standards. Information standards are agreed ways of doing something, written down as a set of precise criteria so they can be used as rules, guidelines, or definitions.
Technical Standards and specifications. Technical standards and specifications specify how to make information available technically including how the data is structured and transported.
- Contact point
england.standards.assurance@nhs.net
Using this standard
The Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB) were commissioned by NHS England to develop the following set of resources. These have been migrated into the NHS Standards Directory and will be managed by NHS England from 01 January 2026.
- Associated medias
- Describes the purpose, methodology and stakeholder engagement for developing the standard, along with the findings and recommendations for further work.
- This document includes general implementation guidance.
- Details the potential hazards from implementing the standard with their risk rating and mitigation.
- Summarises the hazards which could result from implementing the standard.
Topics and care settings
- Topic
- Care records
- Continuity of care
- Demographics
- Information governance
- Key care information
- Patient communication
- Pharmacy, Medicines and Prescribing
- Tests and diagnostics
- Care setting
- Hospital
- Urgent and Emergency Care
Dependencies and related standards
- Dependencies
This standard needs to be reviewed and implemented alongside:
- SNOMED CT
- Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard
- Electronic Patient Records (EPR) in ambulance services' systems.
- Receiving compatible Emergency Department (ED) systems
- Related standards
Review Information
- Scope
- For use with all transfers from ambulance to emergency departments or urgent care services. Out of scope: Ambulance transport or transfers between hospitals. Post event messages to the person’s GP if the person is not conveyed by ambulance services.
- Contributor
- Professional Record Standards Body (PRSB)
Legal basis
- Licence information
NHS England permits the copying and re-use of Information Standards, in whole or in part, for commercial and non-commercial purposes but, to protect the integrity of the Information Standards, you are not permitted to adapt, amend or decompile the Information Standards for any purpose without our prior consent.
- Licence
Crown Copyright https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/terms-and-conditions
More information
Emergency care needs fast, effective sharing of information. When clinicians have access to the information they need, they can better ensure safe and high-quality care for patients. The standard defines the information that should be transferred from an ambulance to an emergency department when or just prior to the patient being transferred.
The benefits of an implemented ambulance handover standard:- A consistent set of information available to the emergency care professionals through their own record system.
- Improved patient safety as emergency care professionals will know what medications have been administered, what diagnostic tests have been done, whether the patient has any allergies and other important information obtained by the paramedics.
- Improved efficiency through better workflow, continuity of care, and pre-arrival streaming based on clinical information.
Clinical leadership was provided by clinicians from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and the College of Paramedics (CoP). The standard has been developed with the support of professionals and patients.
Page last updated: 18 December 2025