Ambulance service demand from prisons: a service evaluation

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Medical Services
• Criminal Justice Health

Background:

• Incarcerated individuals face significant health disparities, including higher rates of physical and mental health conditions.
• Ambulance service utilization within the prison population is not well understood, despite these health inequalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the nature and volume of emergency ambulance calls originating from prisons in the Yorkshire and Humber region.
• To compare ambulance service activity in prisons with the general population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) dispatch records for adult emergency calls from 13 prisons (April 2021-March 2022).
• Data included call reason, patient disposition (transported/not transported), and call timings.
• Comparison with Ministry of Justice prison population statistics and regional YAS conveyance rates.

Main Results:

• Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) received 1263 calls from prisons, dispatching ambulances to 1025 incidents (0.14% of total YAS incidents).
• A 71.2% conveyance rate was observed, approximately one-third higher than the regional average, though clinical acuity did not always justify transport.
• Significant variation in call frequency existed between different prisons.

Conclusions:

• Ambulance calls from prisons constitute a small fraction of the overall workload for Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS).
• Calls from prisons were more frequently categorized as highest priority during initial triage.
• Both ambulance attendance and patient conveyance rates were higher for prison incidents compared to the general population.