Mr. Robert Morton:

In the sector it is known as the recontact rate. We do not measure that. Some international services do and say between 4% and 6% of patients brought in by ambulance and subsequently discharged then recontact the emergency number, whether 999, 111 or whatever the case may be. The small insight we have into that question is through our pathfinder teams. These teams consist of an advanced paramedic and an occupational therapist or physiotherapist. They focus on the over-65, but predominantly over-75, age group.

They focus on patients who are frail and older and have complex needs. The first aspect we are finding with those patients is the emergency response and the second aspect is the follow-up. We are finding that each patient requires an average of three follow-up calls to ensure he or she does not end up back in hospital. That is giving us a good insight into how effective the model can be, if one invests in good follow-up. That does not answer the question specifically, but with regard to our experience-----