A pioneering scheme has helped more than 50,000 patients a year avoid unnecessary visits to A&E departments, said South Central Ambulance Service.

Launched in 2019 the urgent care pathways project allows ambulance service clinicians to assess and treat patients when handling 111 or 999 calls.

Within just two years it had prevented more than 30,000 patients going to emergency departments.

Many of these patients were admitted instead to a specialist hospital service, transported to a treatment centre or referred to a community service or their GP to be managed at home.

SCAS, which works across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire, also have access to an app SCAS Connect with locations and details of all clinical and support services.

Due to its success the initiative - which is now known as clinical pathways - has been backed by NHS England and similar models rolled out across other ambulance trusts.

Chris Jackson, Clinical Pathway Team lead, said: “More than 50,000 patients per year are now benefitting from the collaborations between SCAS and our system partners to support patients getting to the right care first time every time and we are delighted NHS England is supporting the rollout of similar models across ambulance services.”

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Dr John Black, Medical Director at SCAS, added: “This excellent initiative is integral to delivering the right care first time every time and supports the delivery of care in the community as close to home as possible when it is safe and appropriate to do so.”