A SHAKE up in the way the Welsh Ambulance Service responds to 999 calls will see all calls categorised into a traffic light system.

The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust this morning revealed they are changing the way they decide what emergency calls are the most serious by classing them as red, amber and green.

Under the new model, when people call for an ambulance on 999 a computer system will detect emergency trigger words such as "stabbed", "shot", "collapsed" or "bleeding to death".

When the call taker decides the call is red - the most serious emergencies where patients will die if they do not receive immediate treatment- ambulances and emergency vehicles will be immediately sent to arrive ideally within minutes.

If the call is not flagged as red, the caller will stay on the line for up to two minutes while the ambulance service finds out what is wrong.

If classed as Amber, the call handler will decide what is the best response vehicle to be sent. If green, an emergency response could be sent or the caller will stay on the line for telephone advice.

Currently all 999 calls are coded red until proven otherwise so emergency ambulances are always dispatched, meaning sometimes emergency vehicles are sent when not needed.

The Welsh Government said the scheme will be piloted across Wales for a year from October 1 this year.

Richard Lee, head of clinical services at WAST, said because of the current eight minute response target, ambulances are sent out to all calls even before it is known what is wrong. The ambulances are then stood down, meaning their time is wasted.

Currently, of the 500 most serious calls received daily by the ambulance service, 20 per cent of patients are not conveyed to hospital.

Today's change follows the 2013 McClelland review which recommended scrapping the eight minute response time target claiming it meant patients were getting a quick, but not always the best, response.

Instead of sending someone as quickly as possible, Mr Lee said now the right response will be sent.

Currently the most serious calls category, red one and two, covers 500 calls a day. Under the new system the new red category will take 150 calls a day.

The Amber category will have no time target but will cover 65 per cent of all call volume received. The rest of the calls will be in green category.

UNISON, the largest trade union at the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST), has welcomed the proposed removal of ambulance response times targets for all but the most life threatened patients in Wales.

For over three years, UNISON has publicly led calls across Wales for a suite of evidence based performance indicators that show the people of Wales how well the service is performing in terms of patient outcomes and treatment.

Thursday's announcement finally breaks the reliance on how fast an ambulance was being driven as the most important WAST quality indicator.

Instead performance will be determined by what happened after the ambulance arrived. In other words patient care and patient outcome.

Darron Dupre, Ambulance Lead for UNISON Cymru Wales, said:
“The decision from the Welsh Government, supported by WAST and by UNISON has shown considerable leadership and courage.

“It is a decision that will be supported by paramedics, control room staff, emergency department consultants and most of those who provide emergency care throughout Wales.

“We believe that these proposals, throwing a blanket of resources around the most immediately life threatened patients in Wales, will ultimately save lives and provide the best possible quality of life for survivors of the most traumatic incidents.

“UNISON believes that a world class ambulance service needs to be judged by great patient care and great patient outcomes. Today’s announcement, supported by UNISON, sets us on exactly that journey”.