The Intelligent Routing Platform was launched in November 2022 to route 999 calls to alternative ambulance services if the patient's home ambulance service experienced answer delays.

An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘Answering patient calls is the responsibility of ambulance trusts. NHS England's strategy has been to work with trusts to improve call handling so that re-routing is not needed, not least because there are benefits for patients in the call being answered by the home ambulance service where alternatives to conveyance can be coordinated.

‘We are now close to achieving that goal, with outstanding issues in a small number of services. This is why we have put in place a three-month extension to the commercial arrangements to allow a smooth transition back to the pre-pandemic arrangements, and value for money for the taxpayer.'

NHSE said call volumes had significantly reduced and answer delays had improved since the system's introduction.