Safety recommendation
It is recommended that NHS England/NHS Improvement evaluates current approaches to the clinical oversight of overdose calls within ambulance control rooms and leads on work to develop a national framework to describe the requirements for appropriate clinical oversight of overdose calls.
Response:
The guidance on the ‘Clinical Oversight of Overdose Calls’ will be encompassed in a wider programme of work to develop a Clinical Oversight Framework for Emergency Operations Centres. The development of this framework is a longer term piece of work and will be completed in partnership with the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.
To expedite the HSIB recommendation, NHSE/I will be developing the ‘Clinical Oversight of Overdose Calls’ procedure as a first stage in the Clinical Oversight Framework with a view to incorporating it as the framework develops. This approach should allow NHSE/I to disseminate a draft procedure for the Clinical Oversight of Overdose Calls to 999 and 111 services for their comments by the end of August 2020.
The finalised procedure will be presented to the Emergency Call Prioritisation Advisory Group (ECPAG) and internal governance processes for approval in September 2020 with the intention of publication and implementation by ambulance Trusts in October 2020.
The following actions have also been taken:
- The guidance on the ‘Clinical Oversight of Overdose Calls’ will be encompassed in a wider programme of work to develop a Clinical Oversight Framework for Emergency Operations Centres.
- NHSE/I will be developing the ‘Clinical Oversight of Overdose Calls’ as a first stage in the Clinical Oversight Framework with a view to incorporating it as the framework develops.
Response received on 3 August 2020.