Technology from telemedicine provider Consultant Connect has been rolled out across Lanarkshire to help patients with non-life-threatening conditions avoid unnecessary A&E admissions.
This HealthTech connects Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) paramedics in the Lanarkshire area with local A&E consultants via the ‘Call Before Convey’ pathway within four seconds. The tech has been rolled out to help paramedics who need rapid specialist advice when seeing patients with non-life-threatening conditions. This often results in patients being directed to the most suitable place, such as specific units or providing self-care advice that allows them to bypass A&E departments altogether.
A&E consultants can also use the Consultant Connect App to get advice from consultants in other specialties. This ensures a patient’s condition is considered holistically and they get given the right care first time.
During a three day pilot programme, 74 calls were placed and answered in an average of just three seconds. This led to four in five patients avoiding unnecessary A&E admissions. Out of these patients, 60% were cared for in the community, meaning they did not need to be conveyed to hospital.
Following the success of the pilot, Consultant Connect’s technology has been adopted as routine practice for the pathway across NHS Lanarkshire and more than 1,500 calls have already been made, with 65% avoiding an unnecessary A&E admission.
This rollout comes at an important time for NHS Scotland, with one in 20 patients spending more than 12 hours in A&E as of the end of March.
Dr Gordon McNeish, Emergency Medicine Consultant and Project Lead at NHS Lanarkshire Health Board, said: “The project looks to increase the usage of this service by encouraging paramedics to discuss most non-life-threatening cases with a dedicated A&E consultant. They can also access other community services and pathways that are all aimed at keeping a patient at home where appropriate.
“We are keen to build this service and develop our relationship with the SAS so that this becomes part of normal business. Ultimately, patients can benefit from rapid access to senior advice and A&E hopefully has less patients waiting to be seen.”
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