999 Callers Could Be Diverted to NHS 24 Helpline Nurses ; GPs Attack ‘Risky’ Move to Cut Emergency Call-Outs

By SIMON JOHNSON

THOUSANDS of patients who dial 999 for emergency aid will be called back by NHS 24 staff instead of being sent an ambulance.

Health chiefs will introduce the change this spring despite warnings from doctors and patients’ groups that lives could be at risk.

Those 999 calls deemed to be least urgent will be dealt with by NHS 24 nurses, leaving ambulances free for the most critical cases.

But there are fears the helpline will struggle to cope with the new burden after it lurched from crisis to crisis when it took over answering out-of-hours calls to GPs.

A volley of criticism was aimed at NHS 24 after a fatal accident inquiry found two callers died needlessly because staff were ‘desperate’ to avoid sending out doctors.

Last night Katherine Murphy, spokesman for the Patients’ Association, said: ‘If there is a life-and-death situation then time spent speaking to an individual on the phone trying to decide whether to go through NHS 24 might well cost someone’s life.

‘Costs should never come before clinical care.’ Instead, she suggested health bosses launch an information campaign on the roles of the Scottish Ambulance Service ( SAS) and NHS 24 so the public could decide who to call.

Dr Alan McDevitt, secretary of Glasgow’s GP committee, said he had concerns about the move to have some 999 callers dealt with by NHS 24.

He said: ‘Assessing a patient on the phone is more risky because it is always more risky not to see a patient in person.’ He added that the success of the new scheme would depend on how adept NHS 24 staff were in referring a patient to the correct branch of the health service to deal with their clinical needs.

But NHS 24 clinical director George Crooks, who is also SAS interim medical director, said the move would ensure callers get the right response.

A pilot scheme in Edinburgh showed that 15 per cent of 999 calls could be handled by the helpline, the equivalent of 5,250 to 6,000 calls a month across Scotland.

Dr Crooks explained that, under the present system, a member of the public has to make their own decision over whether they dial 999 or call NHS 24, at a time when they are worried about their health or that of a neighbour.

He added: ‘People will sometimes make an inappropriate choice, so we have to have a way of making sure we can route patients to the most appropriate end point.

‘Rather than expecting if you phone 999 you always get a white van and two men in green suits, we have to flow patients through the system.’ Controversy has dogged NHS 24 since its launch in May 2002.

In July last year, a sheriff ruled the service failed two seriously ill patients who later died.

The families of Shomi Miah, 17, and Steven Wiseman, 30, claimed delays by the helpline in getting medical assistance led to their deaths.

After a six-month joint fatal accident inquiry at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Sheriff James Tierney said it was ‘tragically clear’ the phone system had failed Miss Miah, who died from meningitis, and Mr Wiseman, who died from toxic shock.

s.johnson@dailymail.co.uk

OAP waited five hours for an ambulance

A FRAIL pensioner had to endure an agonising five-hour wait for an ambulance.

Ivor Finnie called NHS 24 on Wednesday night when his brother Bill, a diabetes sufferer, suddenly fell ill.

The helpline eventually called out a doctor, who ordered an ambulance for Mr Finnie, 77, a diabetes sufferer who lost a leg to the disease and was writhing in pain.

But there were only two ambulances working in the whole of Aberdeen and it took five hours for one to arrive to take the pensioner to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Ivor Finnie, 61, said yesterday: ‘When I called to complain I was told there were only three ambulances in Aberdeen but one had to go to Glasgow.’

Instead, NHS 24 staff advised Mr Finnie to drive his brother to Aberdeen’s emergency GP service G-Docs even though Bill cannot walk. The company director said: ‘I explained to the NHS 24 staff that Bill had no way of getting out of the house. He has been in so much pain with the diabetes he can hardly eat so is very weak.’ Mr Finnie finally arrived at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary at 2am on Thursday.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said two rapid response cars and normal staffing numbers were on duty. He said Mr Finnie’s condition was not life-threatening so he was not picked up within four hours because emergency cases take priority.

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