Professor Cathal O'Donnell:

We are fortunate that my medical colleagues in CUH as a group are very interested in pre-hospital care. We have done many things with them over the years and this is one example of a positive collaboration. As Mr. Morton said, it is an EMT from the National Ambulance Service. We provide a response car and there is a doctor from CUH, usually at senior trainee level. That vehicle is targeted at low acuity calls. These are people who have dialled 999 and have - we think based on the 999 call information - something that does not necessarily require hospital treatment. We send a doctor to the scene to do an assessment and to say either the person does not need to go to hospital or to say to the person what he or she needs and to put those things in place for them on a planned or outpatient basis or by liaising with the person's general practitioner. It has been hugely successful.