** London Ambulance Service in UK seeking to reduce hospital transports, treat more patients at scene
UNITED KINGDOM NEWSÂ
** In an attempt to reduce A & E crunches, the London Ambulance Service is seeking to treat more EMS patients at the emergency scene. That is the word from The Standard (Ross Lydal/May 30) which said the prehospital policy shake-up could also save the National Health Service (NHS) 36.5 million pounds a year. To facilitate the new protocol, EMS brass said they plan to use video consultations, iPad based patient records, and photographs to aid in patient treatment. In addition, potential patients would receive phone advice. Service chief executive Garrett Emmerson said the purpose of the new approach is to improve both the speed of care and its quality. LAS medics responded to some 1.2 million calls last year, with 760,00 patients being taken to hospital. Service brass say they hope their new tact will reduce transports by about 122,000 annually.
