Shropshire care homes call-out ruling for ambulance crews
Ambulance staff in Shropshire have been told not to convey patients from care homes to hospital without first consulting the service’s control room – unless it is an emergency.
It comes amid significant pressures facing the county's A&E departments.
West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) says it is assisting by ‘trying to make sure the number of patients treated in the community is maximised’.
An operational notice issued by WMAS to staff this month says there have been ‘extreme difficulties’ in handing patients over at emergency departments.
The service is asking crews to consider whether patients can be treated by ‘appropriate community services’.
It adds: “With immediate effect, all patients in a nursing/care home, residential home, rest home or other sheltered accommodation etc, across Shropshire and Worcestershire should not be conveyed without consultation with the strategic capacity cell (SCC), unless the patient requires an alert to the nearest emergency department or specialist pathway.”
The SCC was launched last year to co-ordinate patient movements and support crews to find alternative pathways for patients.
It brings together groups within the NHS and has access to a range of live information feeds, giving a real time region-wide overview of pressures.
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WMAS says it utilises the SCC all year round to assist crews in finding suitable and safe alternatives to taking patients to A&E.
Since its launch last March, the SCC has diverted more than 20,000 patients away from emergency departments by finding alternative routes.
WMAS spokesman Jamie Arrowsmith said: “The operational notice that has been issued to staff simply provides additional information for crews responding to patients living in nursing and care homes. It highlights that the SCC can assist in accessing appropriate and safe alternatives to A&E such as community nursing teams, pharmacists and out-of-hours GP services.
“All patients who are in a serious condition and require the receiving hospital to be placed on alert will still be conveyed immediately without the need to contact the SCC.”
Last month, new NHS figures revealed the number of patients facing long waits on trolleys at Shropshire's A&Es rose in November, and there have been further reports of patients facing long trolley waits at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital since.
The figures for last month have not yet been released.
As a result of the high demand, hospital chiefs have been asking people to consider if they really need the specialist service that the A&Es provide.
