Computer-assisted telephone advice for emergency services Not Applicable
Conditions
Interventions
Time blocks of 3-4 hours were allocated randomly within the constraints of staff availability to intervention sessions (nurse assessment and triage, or paramedic assessment and triage) and control ses
Sponsors
Record Provided by the NHS R&D 'Time-Limited' National Programme Register - Department of Health (UK)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: The trial was conducted at two sites: the London Ambulance Service and the West Midlands Ambulance Service. Data collection for the main study was undertaken over a period of 12 months. All calls to the 999 ambulance service prioritised by call-takers as presenting with non-urgent (Category C) problems during sampled sessions.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Not provided at time of registration
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Triage assessment made by the paramedic or nurse 2. Subsequent cancellation of ambulance 3. Caller/patient satisfaction 4. Health outcome 5. SF-12 one week after 999 call 6. Review of nurse/paramedic decision making by independent clinical panel 7. Economic analysis of findings. The findings indicate that the provision of telephone assessment and advice to Category C callers is both safe and acceptable to callers. Telephone assessment and advice could enable patients with no identified clinical need for an emergency ambulance to be offered more appropriate care for their presenting condition. In the ambulance services studied, this could lead to at least 7-10% of dispatches being cancelled, so enabling improved response times for patients with more critical or life-threatening needs. Nurses using computer assisted decision support were more effective at identifying patients not in need of emergency ambulance than were paramedics using the decision support. The savings in marginal costs to the ambulance service appear likely to outweigh the costs of providing the telephone triage intervention. There are also likely to be considerable savings to AEDs as a result of reduced attendances. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Not provided at time of registration | — |
Countries
United Kingdom
Outcome results
None listed