We employ more than 2,000 staff and receive, prioritise and respond to over 360,000 emergency and urgent incidents per annum. NEAS covers an area of 3,200 square miles serving a population of 2.66 million people.
Of these incidents over 110,000 are immediately life threatening and require an 8 minute response time. Alongside this there are 10 other clinical quality indicators which are aimed at judging care on its quality, not just how quickly an ambulance arrives.
The A&E service also provides a 120 to 240 minute transport service for General Practitioners for up to 65,000 patients per annum, transporting those who require direct admission to hospital following a GP assessment. In addition, up to 1,500 patients per annum require a high dependency transfer.
Our Patient Transport Service facilitates vital access for many patients requiring health care or treatment services at outpatient appointments, planning for over one million patient transport service journeys per annum.
Our emergency planning department provides medical support and training so that the service is prepared in the event of a major incident. The Trust also works very closely with St Johns Ambulance Service and the British Red Cross.
A&E and PTS are both supported by our Contact Centres based in Bernicia House, Newburn Riverside and Russell House, Hebburn, which are now managing in excess of 450,000 calls per annum.
NEAS also runs a 111 non emergency number for people who need healthcare but are unsure if they need an ambulance. This is currently being rolled out across the region. A trained call taker will assess their needs and either refer them to a local point of care for example their GP or walk in centre, or arrange an emergency ambulance if one is needed.
