Alternatives to emergency (999) calls are needed

As demands on emergency services increase, many ambulance services want to develop alternatives to the standard response to all 999 calls. Snooks and colleagues (p 330) say that alternative responses are needed, but evidence about their safety and effectiveness is weak and the work involved in their development is complex. They say that an integrated, single point of access to immediate care, such as NHS Direct, may result in appropriate responses for the full range of cases.

BSIP ESTIOT/SPL