Volunteers will be sent to take 999 patients to hospital as part of efforts to ease pressure on ambulance services.
The London Ambulance Service (LAS) has to start piloting the system within weeks, as senior doctors warn of “extremely bad” emergency delays in some parts of the country.
Although hospitals and charities regularly use volunteers to take patients to outpatient meetings, it is believed that this is the first time that non-professionals will be used to transport emergencies.
An ambulance is already sending taxis to take some patients to hospital. The new scheme targets patients who are classified as “category 3” – meaning they need to receive an emergency response within two hours – and who need help due to mobility problems.
LAS officials said NHS England was trying to use it as a basis for a “national volunteer transport system”.
Across the country, the ambulance’s response time is the lowest in history, with an average waiting time of more than an hour for heart attack and stroke victims in March, compared to the 18-minute target.
In the capital, the average wait for such emergencies was almost 51 minutes, the data show.
“First responders to the community”
So far, 22 volunteers have been enrolled and trained in the scheme, which currently uses “community first aid staff” trained by the St. John’s ambulance.
Respondents who have emergency first aid training are usually deployed to reach emergency calls quickly and provide on-site assistance before ambulance crews can get there.
The office said at a board meeting last month: “The project is supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement, which are seeking to implement a national volunteer transport model based on the use of our model.
NHS England is believed to have provided £ 100,000 in funding for the pilots to be launched in May, using LAS cars based on each of the capital’s six ambulances.
The new scheme comes amid warnings of “horrific” waiting for ambulances in parts of the country.
Dr Catherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said the shocking and “extremely bad” delays in emergency care meant the growing crisis was dangerous and life-threatening.
Easter GP pressure
Health leaders also expressed concerns about growing pressure over Easter.
Traditionally, GPs close routine services after Maundy Thursday and reopen the following Tuesday. As a result, A&E departments come under additional pressure at a time when more employees are on leave.
GPs have been instructed to hire all lost appointments for the four-day holiday weekend within two weeks in an effort to reduce the need for emergency care.
However, there are fears that hospitals are already under unprecedented pressure to cope with the backlog of patients struggling to get help during the pandemic, as well as more than 20,000 Covid cases in hospitals.
Earlier, NHS leaders warned that the pressure on Easter Eve was already “as bad as any winter” with allegations of an “unfolding crisis”.
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