999 callers get assessment on Skype instead of ambulance

PEOPLE who dial 999 are being offered a video call assessment rather than an ambulance, it was reported last night.

Video consultations using smartphone apps like Skype and Facetime are being tested out in different areas of England for patients suffering from non life-threatening conditions, such as falls or back pain. The calls connect the patient with paramedics and nurses who assess their condition remotely, but there have been warnings such video consultations can be unreliable.

Details of the scheme were revealed by a former call handler at South Central Ambulance Service. The ex-999 worker told the Daily Mail other controversial policies included refusing ambulances to those whose lives were not thought to be in immediate danger and preventing call handlers from giving medical advice to heart attack victims because of a shortage of time. A spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service said it and other trusts were trialling the video consultations, and that they gave “the clinician more information when they are assessing the patient”. However, Dr Richard Vautrey, the interim chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said doctors had to “err on the side of caution” with video consultations because they did not allow for a proper physical examination.

Ambulance services are coming under mounting pressure, with Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS medical director, saying there is a culture of “hitting the target but missing the point”.

The Telegraph reported last week that heart attack and stroke victims could have to wait 40 minutes for an ambulance under new NHS targets. Changes to the system mean around four million calls that are currently categorised as “life-threatening” will not receive the most urgent response.