Poll: Should 999 dispatchers be given more time to decide whether to send ambulances?

Under current rules call handlers have only 60 seconds to gather the information they need, leading to concerns that ambulances were being sent to patients who did not need them.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told MPs giving call handlers "very limited extra assessment time would ensure that ambulances are better deployed to where they are most needed and would allow a faster response time for those patients who really need it".

The new arrangements will be put in place in pilot areas in the areas covered by the London Ambulance Service and the South West Ambulance Service and will give call handlers up to 120 seconds longer to get all the information they need from a person making a non-life-threatening 999 call before deciding on the right response.

The first pilot is expected to start in February, NHS England said.

Professor Keith Willett, NHS England's national director for acute care, said: 'We are piloting these new arrangements because on medical grounds, we believe they will increase the availability of ambulance vehicles and paramedic staff, providing patients with a better service and improving their chances of survival, especially those with the most serious conditions."

In the pilot sites, a small number of potentially life threatening conditions, such as overdoses and certain types of gunshot wounds, will also be upgraded from the Red 2 category into the higher-priority Red 1 category so they receive a faster response than is currently the case.

Prof Willett said: "It's not about relaxing standards. By acting with slightly less haste on the calls, we believe we can get to more patients with more speed. Some conditions will be upgraded to Red 1 status, requiring a more urgent response than is currently the case."

NHS England said evidence shows that less than 10% of 999 calls are for genuinely life-threatening conditions, yet currently around 40% are classified as such, partly due to the lack of time the call handler has before the clock starts for determining whether an ambulance has arrived within the target time.

To meet the current target of reaching 75% who are categorised as Red 2 within eight minutes, ambulance trusts frequently send vehicles to 999 callers before they have determined the exact nature of the problem.

They may also send more than one vehicle, such as an ambulance and a rapid responder.

On average, more than 20% of vehicles are cancelled before reaching the scene, wasting resources which could be used for other patients.

In a written statement to MPs Mr Hunt said: "At present, ambulance services are allowed only 60 seconds before the clock starts to decide what the right course of action is for that individual patient.

"This sometimes leads to ambulances being dispatched unnecessarily, so that fewer ambulances are available for patients who really do need emergency assistance."

Mr Hunt said the changes were being considered "in light of the unprecedented increase in demand for ambulance services in the last two months".

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham criticised the timing of the pilots, saying they should be carried out in the summer rather than while the NHS was struggling to cope with winter pressures.

He said: "This is the worst winter for years in England's A&Es. It is not the time for experiments, nor relaxing operational standards. This could mean patients waiting longer for ambulances.

"We're not against the idea of a pilot but it should be done in a quieter summer period. The Government must urgently provide reassurance this can be done without putting patient safety at risk."