To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the clinical basis is for the recommendation of his Department that transfers of patients between ambulance and hospital staff should be completed in under 15 minutes. (228290)

It is clearly important that patients are handed over to the care of hospital staff as soon as possible after the ambulance arrives in order to provide them with timely access to their next stages of care and to support a positive patient experience. 15 minutes is considered to be a reasonable time in which handover can be completed. Ambulance and acute trusts are expected to have appropriate clinical governance arrangements in place to ensure a high standard of patient care, including during handover.