Dr Nikki Burger says the target is for GPs to deal with an average of five ambulance cases a day. Photograph: South Worcestershire CCGGPs have been dealing with 999 calls during the day, which were traditionally handled by ambulance crews – reducing the number of patients admitted to hospital and saving £1.1m
The scheme was set up by South Worcestershire clinical commissioning group (CCG) and the West Midlands ambulance service last October in an attempt to cut the number of avoidable hospital admissions and free up paramedics to take on more life-threatening calls.
GPs are available from 12pm until 8pm – when 999 calls are often at their highest – every day of the week.
An ambulance is always dispatched to the scene in case an emergency admission is needed. But the crew or the ambulance control room can call out the GP if it is felt that the patient could be treated at home by the family doctor rather than being taken to hospital.
Since the scheme was launched last October 50 GPs have taken 1,221 calls with only 20% of patients being taken on to hospital. The project, which costs £21,000 a month to run, has prevented 970 A&E attendances and 500 hospital admissions, saving £1.1m. The scheme has been so successful that GP urgent support is also being made available to care homes, minor injury units and community care teams.
GP Dr Nikki Burger, the CCG's urgent care lead, says: "We recognised the potential to expand the role. Our target is that the GP deals with 35 ambulance cases a week – an average of five a day – and the rest of the time they are available to provide the extended support role."
The initiative was originally run as a pilot scheme by the CCG's predecessor Worcestershire primary care trust as a solution to tackling increased demand on NHS services during the winter.
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