ArticleBMC emergency medicine2019
What are emergency ambulance services doing to meet the needs of people who call frequently? A national survey of current practice in the United Kingdom.
Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of the community paramedicine at home (CP@home) program for frequent users of emergency medical services in Ontario: a randomized controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of Multidisciplinary "Case Management" Approaches to the Management of Patients Who Make High Use of the Emergency Ambulance Service: A Quasi-experimental Evaluation Using Linked Routine Records.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2026Article
- Frequent users of the ambulance service in a Swedish region: a retrospective cohort study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Modeling IN out-of-hospital emergency medical services-a scoping review of approaches and applications.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Why do patients seek emergency care for problems that could be managed in primary care? A scoping review.Family practice · 2025Article
- Patterns and characteristics of 'calls of despair': a service evaluation using Yorkshire Ambulance Service data.British paramedic journal · 2025Article
- Disparities between two possible thresholds for frequent contacts to a Norwegian emergency medical communication centre: ≥5 contacts in one month vs. ≥12 contacts in three months.BMC emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Frequent callers vs. frequent users - a scoping review of frequent contacts to the emergency medical services.International journal of emergency medicine · 2025Review
- Exploring the reliability and profile of frequent mental health presentations using different methods: An observational study using statewide ambulance data over a 4-year period.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2025Observational
- 'If It Was Easy Somebody Would Have Fixed It': An Exploration of Loneliness and Social Isolation Amongst People Who Frequently Call Ambulance Services.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Ambulance quality and outcome measures for general non-conveyed populations (AQUA): A scoping review.PloS one · 2024Article
- Article
- Defining a threshold above which an adult can be considered to frequently use ambulance services: a retrospective cross-sectional study of emergency calls to an ambulance service in England.British paramedic journal · 2023Article
- One for all or all for one? An integrative review of research on frequent callers.PEC innovation · 2022Article
- Frequent callers to UK ambulance services in the COVID-19 pandemic: managing mental health, social isolation and loneliness.British paramedic journal · 2021Article
- Causes of death in the Emergency Department: a retrospective monocentric study.Romanian journal of morphology and embryology = Revue roumaine de morphologie et embryologieArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEmergency ambulance services are integral to providing a service for those with unplanned urgent and life-threatening health conditions. However, high use of the service by a small minority of patients is a concern. Our objectives were to describe: service-wide and local policies or pathways for people classified as Frequent Caller; call volume; and results of any audit or evaluation.
methodWe conducted a national survey of current practice in ambulance services in relation to the management of people who call the emergency ambulance service frequently using a structured questionnaire for completion by email and telephone interview. We analysed responses using a descriptive and thematic approach.
resultsTwelve of 13 UK ambulance services responded. Most services used nationally agreed definitions for 'Frequent Caller', with 600-900 people meeting this classification each month. Service-wide policies were in place, with local variations. Models of care varied from within-service care where calls are flagged in the call centre; contact made with callers; and their General Practitioner (GP) with an aim of discouraging further calls, to case management through cross-service, multi-disciplinary team meetings aiming to resolve callers' needs. Although data were available related to volume of calls and number of callers meeting the threshold for definition as Frequent Caller, no formal audits or evaluations were reported.
conclusionsAmbulance services are under pressure to meet challenging response times for high acuity patients. Tensions are apparent in the provision of care to patients who have complex needs and call frequently. Multi-disciplinary case management approaches may help to provide appropriate care, and reduce demand on emergency services. However, there is currently inadequate evidence to inform commissioning, policy or practice development.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.