The current system of urgent and emergency care (UEC) is under increasing pressure in England, so there are plans to improve it so patients get the right care in the right place, whenever they need it. The ambition to transform urgent and emergency care is to ensure it better serves those with serious or life threatening emergencies, as well as those with urgent care needs. For people calling 999, we are working with NHS Ambulance Services to ensure that patients receive the most appropriate response, whether this is advice given by our staff in person, or by being taken to hospital by ambulance staff.For those with more serious or life-threatening emergency care needs, changes to the current system means that people will receive treatment in centres with the best expertise and facilities to maximise the chances of survival and good recovery.
OSR Medical Ambulance Service is working with NHS Trust’s to use the existing trauma and specialist stroke networks, so that the five urgent specialist services will be delivered as part of a networked approach (these are emergency vascular, hyper acute stroke, major trauma, paediatric intensive care and STEMI heart attack). This means if a patient’s nearest hospital doesn’t have the required specialist service, it will be supported by an emergency specialist network which will ensure the patient receives a consistent standard of treatment, wherever they live, seven days a week.
Over the next three years we will continue to reform the urgent and emergency care system within our business to ensure that we provide a responsive service that delivers the right care to patients, in the right place.
OSR Medical Ambulance Service is proud to work with NHS Trust’s and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG’s) across the UK. OSR Medical Ambulance Service are now able to provide Urgent Care Services and Emergency Care Services,
Urgent Care is required in situations where you need medical help but it is not an emergency, whereas Emergency Care is when you have a life-threatening conditions that need emergency medical help.
If it’s not an emergency but you still need medical help, You should call 111 to reach the free NHS 111 service for advice. You should also consider contacting your GP practice, local pharmacy or walk-in centre in the first instance for non-urgent medical advice. You should only call 99 when someone is seriously ill or injured and you think their life is at risk, for example, a traumatic head injury, severe loss of blood, chest pains or loss of consciousness.
When you call 999 you will be asked if you need the ambulance service, police or fire service. You will then be connected to an NHS emergency operations centre where they will ask you some questions about the patient and your location. This is so that the correct help can be arranged straight away.
When it is known where you are and whether or not the patient is breathing and conscious, more questions will be asked about the patient, such as:
- their age, gender and medical history
- if there is any bleeding or chest pain
- details of the injury and how it happened
Don’t worry – these questions will not delay the help you need, they simply make sure you’ll receive the most appropriate care and will help ensure you will get the correct advice over the phone. Based on the nature of the illness or injury, your call will be prioritised into one of four categories and this will determine the type of service we provide and how quickly an ambulance will get to you if one is necessary. This system can differ between NHS Trusts:
For additional information and advice, please contact us. If you are in an emergency situation, please dial 999.