BRITAIN: People who call 999 in Britain with minor conditions such as a cut finger or earache will no longer automatically be sent an ambulance, the British government has said.
In a move aimed at cutting down on misuse of emergency services, patients could receive treatment at home or from other health providers working in the National Health Service (NHS).
Yesterday's announcement was welcomed by ministers and those working in the ambulance service as a way of improving the treatment of all patients.
Under the current system, performance requirements for ambulances dealing with non-urgent (category C) 999 calls are monitored at a national level. These targets say that an ambulance should reach such a call within 14 minutes in urban areas and 19 in rural parts of the country.
From October, however, local NHS organisations will have the responsibility for managing and monitoring how local services respond to such calls. This could mean patients being treated at home by a nurse, paramedic or emergency care practitioner so they do not have to go to hospital.
Patients could also be passed on to NHS direct call centres so advice can be given over the phone. British health minister Ms Rosie Winterton said the Department of Health was giving strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and local ambulance trusts the freedom to decide how best to deal with non-urgent cases.