The Welsh Ambulance Service is changing the way it deals with 999 calls.

From December 2025, new Orange, Yellow and Green categories will replace the current Amber and Green categories.

Together with the Purple and Red categories introduced in July 2025 for life-threatening calls, there will now be five categories of calls, all designed to ensure patients get the right care for their needs.

Purple Arrest – for patients in cardiac or respiratory arrest who need an ambulance immediately.
Red Emergency – for patients at high risk of cardiac or respiratory arrest, like someone who is choking, and who also need help immediately.
Orange Now – for serious conditions requiring a face-to-face clinical assessment, tests and transfer to hospital or specialist care, like someone with a suspected stroke.
Yellow Soon – for patients who need a more thorough assessment over the phone or face-to-face before we decide how to treat them, like someone with abdominal pain. They could stay at home or we may arrange transport to a clinic or hospital.
Green Planned – for less urgent calls, like someone with a chest infection. These patients can usually be treated safely at home with the right care from local services.

The changes are in response to new performance measures by Welsh Government and the continued focus on patient outcomes, and not solely on response times.

The new system will be piloted for 12 months and, following an independent evaluation, will be considered for permanent implementation by Welsh Government.

More information is available from the Welsh Ambulance Service website.