Nurses to handle some 999 ambulance calls

East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust said that at the moment an ambulance is sent to every emergency call, whether it is a serious road traffic accident or symptoms of a common cold.

But from spring, some of the less serious calls will be transferred to a nurse based in the ambulance emergency control centre.

The nurse will be able to give medical advice over the telephone, including self-help remedies and also provide advice about obtaining help from other healthcare providers, such as walk-in centres and GPs.

Emergency calls soar

Emergency responses have more than doubled in the past seven years, and Craig Cooke, distribution manager of the Trust, said the move would help deal with the "seemingly never-ending increase in the volume of 999 calls".

He added: "It clearly doesn't make any sense to be racing to every single emergency call on blue lights and sirens, with all the attendant hazards that involves, when a nurse who is an expert in advising on health problems can be on hand to advise the caller."

But he stressed the service was not trying to put people off ringing 999, rather attempting to match the type of response to the need.

The Trust provides emergency and non-emergency transport services in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.