Ambulances are being used as taxis, report says

AMBULANCES are being used as “taxis”, the NHS watchdog has said, stating that half of call-outs could be treated on the scene.

A new report warns that while 90 per cent of 999 calls are not life-threatening, hundreds of thousands of patients are taken to hospital when they should have received help on the spot.

The research by NHS Improvement suggests that up to 700,000 transfers are needless, heaping pressure on A&E.

Even more hospital visits could be avoided if 999 and 111 phone lines gave better advice, or sent patients to pharmacists or GPS for help, the report says.

Lord Carter, the report’s author, said the needless use of ambulances was costing the NHS at least £500million a year – and fuelling risky delays in A&E.

He said: “Too many patients are being unnecessarily taken to A&E by ambulances, putting further pressure on hospital services that are already on the back foot. Not only is this financially costly, but it takes up staff time and means patients spend time in A&E when they should be recovering at home. An ambulance is not a taxi.”

The non-executive director at NHS Improvement said far more patients should be treated at the scene.

He urged NHS trusts to improve their technology – such as giving paramedics access to patient records – so that more could be given help on the spot. Too often, patients are taken to hospital just so medics can see their records, the research suggests.

It also warns that patients are now “routinely” facing long delays while waiting to be handed over by paramedic crews, with the amount of time ambulances spend at hospitals rising by a third in a decade.

Lord Carter, who has previously been commissioned to make recommendations on improving hospital efficiency, said every patient who can be advised over the phone without needing an ambulance saves the service £190, as well as freeing up ambulances.