HEALTH commissioners have been out on the road with “urgent care practitioners” to see how they are helping to avoid unnecessary hospital admission.

NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has invested £500,000 into the scheme, increasing the amount of practitioners from four to 12, meaning that more Vale of York patients with urgent care needs can be treated in their own home.

Urgent care practitioners (UCP) respond to 999 calls for life threatening, emergency care but they are also able to assess and treat patients in their own home, where it is appropriate to do so, and make referrals to the most appropriate agencies if needed.

Julie Ryan, senior delivery manager at the CCG, who joined the UCPs on duty saw first-hand how a UCP cared for and treated a 95-year-old lady woman who had fallen. The lady received treatment for a minor leg wound and She was medically assessed at the scene so preventing an admission to hospital.

Dr Andrew Phillips, a local GP and the CCG’s deputy chief clinical officer, said: “Hospitals and A&E departments are experiencing an increase in admissions...That’s why the CCG has invested in this unique project and is working very closely with Yorkshire Ambulance Service to address the challenges that impact on the pressures and flow through our hospitals’ and Accident and Emergency services.”