No cause for concern over North West’s high ambulance re-contact rate

Ambulance service

Fears over the large number of patients re-contacting the ambulance service within 24 hours of being discharged have been allayed.

Figures released by the Department of Health show the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust consistently experiences the highest re-contact rate in the country.

Whereas the national monthly average for patients discharged by telephone to recall within 24 hours is between 12% and 15%, in the North West it is nearer the 30% mark.

In March 2012 it was as high as 38%, three times the national average of 12.8%, but a spokesperson for the Trust insisted such figures reflect different methods of care rather than bad performance.

“It may appear that there are anomalies, however they are due to system specifics rather than clinical issues,” they said in a statement to Rochdale Online.

“The Urgent Care Desk, staffed by Specialist Paramedics, refers approximately 20% of patients to alternative treatment options such as community specialists, GPs or Urgent Care Centres.

“These referrals therefore maximise the availability of emergency vehicles to attend seriously life-threatening incidents.

“It is important to note that not all 999 calls are for life-threatening emergencies and do not require an ambulance response.

“Some of the returned calls are for emergency ambulance response, but many of these are for non-emergency transport options only.”

Established in July 2006, the Trust covers a population of nearly seven million people - making it the country’s largest ambulance service.

Almost 1,000 vehicles, both emergency and non-emergency, operate in the region.

The spokesman explained more than one million calls are made to the Trust each year, which are then prioritised according to severity.

Non-emergency calls can be referred to NHS Direct or the Urgent Care Desk where patients can be assessed in greater detail to determine the best course of action.

Of the 2,000 calls referred to NHS Direct each month, approximately 600 are returned - counting officially as ‘re-contact’ despite NWAS actually recording them as another stage in what they term ‘the episode of care’.