Impact | Ambulance Trusts using Consultant Connect
The NHS share their experience
Ambulance Trusts using Consultant Connect
Hover on the Ambulance icons on the below map for more information:
Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS)
Over 73,000 calls placed to date
Launch: January 2019
A&E avoided*: 64%
Average connection time: 12 seconds
Number of lines available: 17 plus a COPD messaging route for Tayside
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- Emergency Medicine
- Acute Medicine
- Stroke Medicine
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS)
Launch: May 2022
A&E avoided*: 46%
Average connection time: 23 seconds
Number of lines available: 3
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- Medicine SDEC
- Surgery SDEC
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS)
Launch: December 2019
A&E avoided*: 53%
Average connection time: 32 seconds
Number of lines available: 5
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- SDEC NGH
- SDEC KGH
- Frailty Phone
Welsh Ambulance Service (WAST)
Over 85,000 calls placed to date
Launch: May 2020
A&E avoided*: 27%
Average connection time: 8 seconds
Number of lines available: 52
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- Pre Alert – Adult
- GP OOH
- Referrals – Flow Centre (AB)
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST)
Launch: June 2022
A&E avoided*: 88%
Average connection time: 21 seconds
Number of lines available: 1
Most used line in the last 12 months:
- Geriatric Medicine, answered by the National Consultant Network (NCN)
West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMAS)
Launch: September 2019
A&E avoided*: 74%
Average connection time: 36 seconds
Number of lines available: 13
Most used line in the last 12 months:
- Frailty Unit
- Cardiology
- Respiratory Medicine
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS)
Launch: February 2021
A&E avoided*: 80%
Average connection time: 17 seconds
Number of lines available: 10
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- Silver Triage
- Acute Medicine SDEC
- Acute Surgical SDEC
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS)
Launch: July 2019
A&E avoided*: 52%
Average connection time: 1min 14 secs
Number of lines available: 3
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- Medical SDEC
- Surgical SDEC
- Frailty SDEC
South West Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT)
Launch: December 2018
A&E avoided*: 31%
Average connection time: 26 seconds
Number of lines available: 4
Most used lines in the last 12 months:
- Elderly Care
- Acute Medicine
- Paediatrics
*Services available differ by locality including ICB/Health Board area or Hospital/Trust. A&E avoidance is for calls where an outcome was reported, data correct from project launch to August 2023.
Ambulance trusts across the UK use* Consultant Connect to rapidly speak to clinicians for advice, bypassing switchboard or bleep waits. This allows ambulance staff to discuss whether A&E really is the most appropriate place to take patients. All calls and outcomes are recorded, thereby improving safety and governance.
Our current data shows that 36% of calls, with reported outcomes, from ambulance staff avoid unnecessary patient conveyances.
The map spotlights the impact of Ambulance Trusts using Consultant Connect in different ways to meet their bespoke local needs.
‘Ambulance clinicians can liaise with senior clinicians who have access to patient records and are able to support more informed decisions on the most appropriate pathway for patients. Crews can now refer directly to the Community Respiratory Team via Consultant Connect by filling in a digital form, which goes to the most appropriate team based on the patient’s locality. Using Consultant Connect means we can track activity and use the calls for training. The recorded calls mean we can review referrals but also missed opportunities, so the system helps both patients and clinicians as well as a whole system learning.’ Find out more
‘The Consultant Connect system is brilliant, we wouldn’t be without it. Managing frailty is vitally important for any acute hospital and enabling paramedics to speak with consultants quickly has changed everything.’ Find out more
Urgent Care Pathways: Examples in Practice
The fact that all pathways set up via Consultant Connect benefit from high connection rates, with 80% of calls being answered the first time and within 30 seconds, IG-secure recorded activity and a dedicated Account Management team are just some of the reasons why we are the UK’s most widely used Enhanced Advice & Guidance system.
Our urgent care pathways in practice slides showcases 7 projects that are paving the way to improve patient care and clinician experiences in urgent care, including service benefits, call statistics and outcomes. Scroll through the images to find out more, or fill in the short form below to receive a PDF copy.
Urgent Care Pathways and Ambulance Impact – Download Request
Examples in Practice
Taking ‘call before convey’ to the next level
Clinicians across 9 Ambulance Trusts in the UK, including the whole of Wales, use Consultant Connect’s services to speak with specialists for advice (calls are answered in 27s on average). Calls are recorded for medico-legal purposes, and all data is captured.
Our services are helping to facilitate numerous successful local urgent care pathways, many of which can be replicated at pace for immediate impact.
5 minutes with…a Paramedic in Wales
‘The bypass numbers, when available, allow us to contact a GP surgery directly and bypass their reception. They are on the app and are of immense use as they reduce time spent on scene waiting for GP callbacks. This means we have time to see more patients, reducing patients’ ambulance wait times.’
Read more to hear from Marcus Vigger, a paramedic for the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST) on his experience of using Consultant Connect.
In the Press
Consultant Connect projects urgent care projects have caught the attention of the press. Click below to read the recent coverage:
- NHS Confed: Providing urgent health care at home for older people living with frailty
- Open Acess Government: Health technology helps under pressure A&E departments
- Health Tech Digital: A&E capacity unlocked by Consultant Connect’s pioneering “talk before you walk” tech
- Digital Health: Consultant Connect technology unlocks A&E capacity
- Building Better Healthcare: A&E capacity unlocked by ‘talk before you walk’ technology
