A private healthcare provider has announced a deal to take non-emergency calls from an ambulance trust.

In a groundbreaking partnership, Care UK said out-of-hours calls from the Essex Ambulance Trust would be referred to it when emergency treatment was not needed.

The company, which operates care homes as well as a rapid response teams to provide short-term emergency care, said the £1.7m contract, which will cover about a fifth of Essex, may eventually cut the number of unnecessary ambulance call-outs by more than half.

If the two-year scheme is successful, it may be extended to other parts of the country.

All 999 calls and requests for family doctors made out of normal working hours will go to the ambulance trust call centre, where staff will decide what kind of treatment is necessary.

This could result in an ambulance being sent out, advice being given over the phone or the call being diverted to Care UK's centre, which would arrange to pick up the patient and take them for treatment.

Care UK chief executive Mike Parish described the contract as a groundbreaking step that could clear the way for similar partnerships elsewhere.

He said Care UK would help by liberating NHS resources. He said: "I think it is a very interesting way forward.

"We are great admirers of the NHS - it is a superb organisation, but it is a big organisation and it can be difficult to make things happen."

Care UK, based in Colchester, Essex, employs about 9,000 staff and has operations across the UK.

The move came as Care UK announced profits of £11.7m and a 22 per cent rise in turnover to £140.6m in the year to September 30.

Published: 23/11/2004