Services and Impact in NHS Scotland

• Over 40 rapid prof-to-prof clinical advice lines available.
• Over 250,000 prof-to-prof clinical advice calls placed.
• 25% of calls to acute specialties have resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary trip to hospital and being signposted to the right community or hospital facility, first time.

• Over 40,000 rapid prof-to-prof clinical advice calls placed by Primary Care clinicians.
• 46% of calls to elective specialties have resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary trip to hospital and being signposted to the right community or hospital facility, first time.

The Mental Health Assessment Unit (MHAU) line connects Primary Care clinicians to senior nurses for same-day emergency mental health assessments:

• Over 1,500 rapid prof-to-prof clinical advice calls placed to the MHAU line.
• 20% of calls to the MHAU line have resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary referral.

• Over 3,000 rapid prof-to-prof clinical advice calls placed by Primary Care clinicians.
• 66% of calls to elective specialties have resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary trip to hospital and being signposted to the right community or hospital facility, first time.
• 80% of calls avoided an unnecessary Emergency Department admission following the 3-day pilot of the ‘call before convey’ project launched in August 2023. This pilot has now been rolled out to business as usual.

The Patient Connect line enables non-emergency patients and their carers to speak directly with ED consultants, rather than attend an emergency department:

• Over 1,000 calls have been placed to patients through Patient Connect.
• 60% of calls resulted in the patient being signposted to the right place or in no further action being required.

• Over 85,000 rapid prof-to-prof clinical advice calls placed by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
• Over 30 prof-to-prof clinical advice messages sent by the Scottish Ambulance Service to the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Referral Pathway.
• 49% of calls to acute specialties have resulted in the patient avoiding an unnecessary trip to hospital and being signposted to the right community or hospital facility, first time.
• The use of a ‘call before convey’ pathway enables Scottish Ambulance Service clinicians to use Consultant Connect to contact local Emergency Department consultants when seeing patients with non-life-threatening conditions.

The Covid Treatment Enquiry Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) line enables patients to initiate an IG-secure virtual consultation with a specialist clinician:

• Over 1,180 calls have been placed by patients to the line.