NHS Pathways go national

The Department of Health has given ambulance services approval to use NHS Pathways to offer alternative services to callers who do not need an ambulance response.

The move means that ambulance services can now choose to train 999 operators to use the system, which allows them to make immediate referrals to local services that may be more appropriate.

NHS Pathways has been piloted successfully in the North East, where it has been used for two years and has handled more than 1m calls.

The 16-strong team that developed it won the BT e-Health Insider Awards team of the year award last year, when the national roll-out was still being planned.

Health minister Ben Bradshaw said out-of-hours care had changed dramatically in recent years, with the extension of GP opening hours, the development of minor injuries units and the expansion of walk-in centres.

He said some of these might be more appropriate for 999 callers than an ambulance. “We are giving the local NHS a choice of how 999 calls are answered, to ensure patients are getting the most out of the modern NHS,” he added.

NHS Pathways has been assessed and approved by the Emergency Call Prioritisation Advisory Group, an independent committee chaired by Peter Bradley, the DH’s national ambulance advisor and chief executive of the London Ambulance Service.

The committee reviewed an evaluation report of the NHS Pathways pilot work undertaken by three UK universities.

NHS Pathways has been shown to help call handlers make a more accurate assessment of calls that need an urgent ambulance response.

Conversely, a survey of patients in the North East who dialled 999 but did not need an ambulance found that 93% were still happy with the response they received.

Related article: On the right pathway: Dr Kevin McKenna, clinical director of NHS Pathways, explains the project.