SAS' Integrated Clinical Hub continues to save 1000s of ambulance journeys
![SAS staff at the Integrated Clinical Hub](/media/qd1hsjns/ich-1.jpg?anchor=center&mode=crop&width=1440&height=810&rnd=133523104088770000)
Over 23,000 ambulance journeys have been avoided in the past five months thanks to the Scottish Ambulance Service’s Integrated Clinical Hub (ICH).
The ICH, launched in December 2022, is co-located with the SAS ambulance control centres in the west, north and east of Scotland and is made up of a multidisciplinary team of clinical advisors, advanced practitioners and GPs.
It provides assessments for all patients who are initially triaged as non-immediately life threatening and may benefit from a further virtual consultation and referral to other services in the community, rather than unnecessary trips to A&E.
Latest data shows that around 71,000 patients have been assessed by the ICH since August 2023.
Michael Dickson, Chief Executive of Scottish Ambulance Service said: “For those patients that require an ambulance, such as immediately life-threatening conditions, we will always dispatch the most appropriate resource. However, our data shows that nearly 50% of our patients don’t require transfer to A&E and can be better treated in other ways, such as in the home, in the community or through specialist services.
"The ICH plays a vital part in carrying out advanced assessment of these patients to identify their clinical needs to ensure they receive the best possible response for their condition.
“The hub is a vital tool in helping us free up vital capacity to attend our sickest patients whilst also reducing the demand at the A&E front door by utilising regional and national pathway alternatives.
“To help our staff we also would like to remind people that if you need urgent care, but it’s not life-threatening, you can call NHS 24 on 111, day or night, or your GP during opening hours.”
Posted on 08/02/2024