Tameside leading the way with scheme to tackle 999 pressure

Tameside is leading the way when it comes to ways of reducing pressure on the ambulance service.

A team of doctors and nurses at Tameside Hospital now respond to non-urgent 999 calls.

The 'Hear and Treat' team, made up of nurses and local GPs, monitor the ambulance call-out logs.

They then contact North West Ambulance Service if they see a patient who may need assistance, but will not need to be taken to A&E.

The six-month pilot is the first in the North West, and it is hoped it could free up vital ambulances to respond to urgent and emergency cases.

Peter Grace, the Emergency Nurse Practitioner, says:

"The team are looking at patients that are in a less serious category to offer assistance and intervention to get a speedy response and reduce the need for hospitals when it is safe.

"The ambulance service can then respond to the most urgent cases and it means we resolve cases that could have been deflected and dealt with by services in our own community.

"People have responded really well. Usually, if they respond to an ambulance they've resigned themselves that it is an emergency and they will have to go to hospital. They've been quite grateful, really, that the don't have to take the trip.

"We look to see if we could make a difference, so it's people who've had simple falls. You quite safe on the floor, you're not going to fall any further, you're alert and you've told someone you need help and we can get there.

""The pilot only started last month so we have a lot to learn, but we do anticipate that, in time, we will make a real difference once the winter months hit and support the achievement of the 98% waiting times which are standard for A&E."