Investing in urgent and emergency healthcare in the North East

Press release

30 November 2016

INVESTING IN URGENT AND EMERGENCY HEALTHCARE IN THE NORTH EAST

A key part of the transformation of urgent and emergency NHS services in the North East has begun this week with an investment fund of up to £750k being made available for the expansion of a regional clinical hub by an Integrated Urgent Care Alliance, which is being led by North East Ambulance Service. .

This investment will enhance the existing 111 service provided by NEAS and will build on the clinical staff already working in the Operations Centre to provide more specialist medical support to call handlers and patients by employing a multi-disciplinary team of GPs, advanced practitioners, nurses and pharmacists.

The investment is aimed at reducing the number of ambulances sent to patients who could be cared for safely and appropriately in other services, as well as reducing the number of patients calling 111 or 999 who are referred to emergency departments.  Patients will instead be referred in greater numbers to other community based services, where they will have improved access, and will help to increase in the number of patients managed over the telephone with self-care advice and information.

GP Urgent Care Lead at North East Ambulance Service, Mathew Beattie, said “Patients calling NHS111 or 999 will generally be met with a call handler who is skilled in triaging patients using a national system called NHS Pathways.  NEAS has boosted its clinical support team within the centre over the past two years and is already beginning to offer great specialist end of life care for callers and will soon launch more integrated mental health care, working with the region’s two specialist mental health providers.

“By having a greater multi-disciplinary team, working from the centre and virtually in alliance with a number of other organisations, we can do more to provide immediate care for patients, and to ensure we can refer them to the best service for their need.  NEAS is already able to book patients directly into GP surgeries and soon we hope to be able to also organise home visits or urgent dental assessments and do electronic prescriptions, where necessary.

“There are so many NHS services out there that it can be difficult for people to know which service is the best for them.  NHS111 is already the single point of access for people to be guided to the right service and this investment will enable us to build on that principle for people calling 999.  With it we can greater integrate services region wide, particularly in the out of hours period, and better manage demand across the system.  This will help us to reduce the pressure on the region’s emergency services, which are designed for patients with life threatening symptoms, so that they are always available for the people who need them most and improve the quality of care and the patient experience across the system.

”This is great recognition that the region’s NHS commissioners want to invest in a new future for urgent and emergency care services for the population at large.”

The team will be based both at the centre at NEAS headquarters at Bernicia House in Newburn, Newcastle upon Tyne, where the Trust manages over one million NHS111 and 999 calls each year, and also working virtually in alliance with partner organisations to deliver the enhanced service.

Over time the investment has the potential to save money across the health economy by more efficiently deploying NHS resources that are better matched to patient needs.

Recruitment is now due to begin at the Trust for two pharmacists, six advanced practitioners, six nurses or paramedics and GPs to cover 34 four hour sessions per week.

The existing team includes a mixture of paramedics and nurses, who are responsible for providing professional, effective clinical support and instruction to patients, call handlers and operational crews.  They also provide triage, clinical support and advice to our blue light partners, such as the police.

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Media contact: Sam Reed at NEAS on Tel: 0191 4302007, sam.reed@neas.nhs.uk