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Only 13% of 999 ambulance calls for critically ill

Ambulance on a 999 callPA Media

Fewer than one in five patients need emergency or critical care.

At a glance

  • South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) says just 13% of calls to its 999 service are for critically ill or injured people

  • The trust says its patients' needs are changing

  • Secamb is responsible for covering East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and North East Hampshire

Mark Norman
´óÏó´«Ã½ South East Health Correspondent

An ambulance service trust says just 13% of calls to its 999 service are for critically ill or injured people.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) says half of all calls (54%) come from the over-65s and mental health is the sixth most common call-out.

The trust says its patients' needs are changing and it is developing new strategies to cope.

Members of the public are being invited to help shape the new strategy.

Secamb is responsible for covering East Sussex, West Sussex, Kent, Surrey, and North East Hampshire.

The trust's chief medical officer, Rachel Oaten, said. "This one-size-fits-all model does not always meet all our patients’ needs or support our workforce.

“By using the wealth of data we have available to us, we are developing our strategy to ensure we’re better placed to meet the needs of our communities."

She said this would ensure the service could respond to the most critically-ill and injured patients in a timely manner.

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