Routine ambulance transport redeployed from 24 March to support COVID-19 planning
Routine ambulance transport redeployed from 24 March to support COVID-19 planning
· Routine journeys to non-essential clinics to be suspended
· Fewer patients with life-threatening conditions on vehicles to maintain social distancing
· Increased hospital discharges to free inpatient and critical care capacity for an anticipated increase of COVID-19 patients
Almost all patient transport services to hospital appointments and clinics will be redeployed by the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) from Tuesday 24 March until further notice.
The decision will allow NEAS to support hospitals to discharge more patients well enough to return home and free-up the maximum possible inpatient and critical care capacity in the region. This preparation is needed now for the anticipated numbers of COVID-19 patients who will need respiratory support in the coming weeks.
A limited transport service will continue for patients needing dialysis; chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other cancer treatment; and when required for non-urgent assessment as directed by a clinician.
Barry Dews, Strategic Head of Operations at NEAS, said: “This is not a decision taken lightly and we know some patients will be worried about whether they should still attend their hospital appointment.
“We regularly carry out around 2,800 patient journeys a day and we have already seen this drop to 1,500 patient journeys a day as hospitals start cancelling appointments and some patients are either self-isolating or following government advice to socially distance themselves.
“We are working very closely with hospitals and our NHS commissioners to ensure that all patients are notified of this change and given advice on what they should do next.”
He said that today’s announcement, which comes into effect from 08.00h tomorrow, increases the availability of NEAS staff to respond to emergency calls. This move also allows the ambulance service to play its part in the wider population measures to socially distance our crews from others to slow down the spread of the virus.
Patients who have any concerns their transport should ring NEAS patient transport 0300 111 0247.
“We also anticipate that as the virus spreads, some of our own staff will become infected and need to self-isolate at home,” said Mr Dews. “By removing the routine burdens now, we are better placed to support critically-ill patients as well as our own workforce when they start to become affected in this national emergency.”
For those limited patients who continue to use NEAS transport services, social distancing will be implemented. Patients will be required to sit at the back of the vehicle as far away from the crew as possible.
For those patients showing symptoms of COVID-19, vehicles will only transport one patient at a time. Crews in direct contact will also be wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), although the designated driver will not be required to wear PPE whilst driving.
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
Transport to essential clinics. We have identified 20 essential clinics (Appendix A) across the region which must continue to run to ensure patients receive crucial treatment. This includes renal dialysis clinics, chemotherapy clinics and other cancer treatments. These 20 clinics make up approximately 500-600 journeys a day. This is approximately a fifth of our usual daily activity.
Patients who are concerned about their appointment or transport, should contact their clinic.
Hospital discharges. We will redirect a number of resources to supporting planned and same day discharges across the region. This will be to support hospital flow across the region, and to ensure patients who are well enough to go home, make it home safely.
Supporting low acuity urgent transport. We will also look to support our emergency and urgent services where possible, by safely transporting patients to hospitals who must urgently attend.
For more information, contact the NEAS press office on 07559 918672 or email publicrelations@neas.nhs.uk
About the North East Ambulance Service
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) covers 3,200 square miles across the North East region. It employs more than 2,600 staff and serves a population of 2.7 million people by handling all NHS111 and 999 calls for the region, operating patient transport and ambulance response services, delivering training for communities and commercial audiences and providing medical support cover at events.
In 2018/19 we answered more than 1.4m emergency 999 and NHS 111 calls, with almost 290,000 patients taken to hospital, 21,500 treated and discharged over the phone and more than 100,000 treated and discharged at home. Almost 76,000 emergency incidents were reached within seven minutes and more than 570,000 Patient Transport Service journeys were made. Over the year we responded to almost 6,000 road traffic incidents. 6,300 people were trained in CPR and defibrillator awareness and 167 new community defibrillators were registered.