Ambulance service launches awareness campaign

    Photo Credit - YAS

    Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) has launched a Right Response First Time campaign to highlight the different ways in which they respond to 999 calls.

    YAS said in 2017, only 67% of their patients who called 999 required hospital admission. The service added that when it is safe and appropriate to do so, paramedics can deal with less serious calls at the scene (see, treat and refer) or over the phone (hear and treat) by a team of experts.

    The campaign is to highlight that under a new system, call handlers in 999 Emergency Operations Centres can ask additional questions that can very quickly identify those patients who will be the highest priority, this allowing an ambulance to be dispatched without delay.

    For other types of call, ambulance staff are given additional time to assess the needs of the patient more fully so that the right response can be sent first time. YAS claims this has resulted in a more efficient tasking of ambulance resources.

    Stephen Segasby, Deputy Director of Operations for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “Ambulance services have evolved considerably in recent years and are no longer about taking all patients to a hospital emergency department.

    “We are focused on providing high quality treatment for our patients wherever they may be; this could be over the phone or in person. We have a range of clinicians with a variety of skills who help us to ensure that our patients receive the right care with the right resource in the right place at the right time.

    “Yes, when a patient is seriously ill or in a life-threatening condition they will be taken to the nearest emergency department or trauma unit. But for patients with less urgent needs, the focus is shifting away from acute hospitals. We are delivering more treatment in the home and community settings, providing clinical advice over the phone and working alongside other health and social care partners to offer more integrated care.”

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