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Trends in demand for emergency ambulance services in Wiltshire over nine years: observational study

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posted on 2023-06-07, 14:48 authored by Hannah Wrigley, Steve George, Helen Smith, Helen Snooks, Alan Glasper, Eileen Thomas
Demand for emergency medical services in the United Kingdom is rising.1 Research into the type of patients transported by emergency ambulances and the severity of their illness has tended to focus on identifying people who use the service inappropriately rather than factors influencing demand, and our understanding of the increase in demand is poor. 2 3 In Wiltshire, a largely rural county in the south west of England, the number of emergency transports of patients increased from 11 268 in 1988 to 16 814 in 1996, a crude increase of 49%.4 This increase is often attributed to general practitioners redirecting patients with urgent problems to the ambulance service, particularly out of surgery hours. Over the same period, however, urgent transports booked by general practitioners rather than in response to a 999 call rose from 9982 to 13 951 (40%). We examined the reasons for this rise.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

BMJ

ISSN

1759-2151

Publisher

BMJ Publishing Group

Issue

7338

Volume

324

Page range

646-647

Department affiliated with

  • Primary Care and Public Health Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2008-10-06

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-04-30

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-07-02

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