NHS: Advanced paramedics work to keep patients out of hospital

A team of health professionals are working together to keep as many patients as possible out of hospital.

The Home First scheme, in Llanelli, assesses 999 calls to see if there are ways to use their various skills to treat people at home.

Advanced paramedics, with additional skills, attend to incidents and 70% of all calls - the amount which would previously have gone to A&E - are now dealt with by alternative routes.

However, staff shortages mean patients in Carmarthenshire still often have to wait hours for help.

Carwyn Lewis, an advanced paramedic, said: "It's heartbreaking that some people have been on the floor 24 hours or more waiting for someone to help them out."