Inside the Welsh Ambulance Service team supporting frequent callers

25.11.25

A dedicated Welsh Ambulance Service team is helping frequent callers to find the right support.

A frequent caller is someone who makes repeat calls to 999, often due to complex health or social care needs, but who inadvertently adds a strain on the emergency services.

Typically, they are disengaged from conventional services, like their GP, but have genuine needs that require targeted support and care planning, not repeat visits by the ambulance service.

Last year, more than 1,300 people in Wales were identified high intensity users.

In a single month, they generated 8,857 calls between them, which took up more than 9,000 hours of ambulance response time.

After four months of intervention by a dedicated team, calls fell to 2,220, and ambulance dispatches fell to 1,996 hours.

Greg Lloyd, Assistant Director of Clinical Delivery, said: “Many of the people we see as frequent callers are often really vulnerable and in genuine need of support.

“Our High Intensity Service User team works in partnership with GPs, mental health services, social care, police and third sector organisations to ensure these patients receive the appropriate, safe and sustainable care they deserve.

“By addressing unmet needs and coordinating across agencies, we’ve also been able to save literally thousands of ambulance hours, which in turn has freed up crews to attend genuine emergencies.”

Each case is overseen by a Clinical Support Lead, who coordinates multi-agency meetings to ensure partners work together to protect the patient’s welfare.

The team also works with specialist clinicians inside the organisation to develop plans for paramedics and nurses in the control room to support frequent callers.

Among the patients supported last year was an elderly man who lived alone and who made more than a dozen calls to the ambulance service in a two-month period after his discharge from a community hospital.

The team worked with the patient’s GP and social services to arrange additional support, including hand and bed rails to reduce his risk of falling.

After their intervention, the man made no further calls to the ambulance service for the remainder of 2024.

Elsewhere, a young woman in supported living accommodation who made over 80 calls in a nine-month period received additional support from her GP, a consultant psychiatrist and a social worker.

She made just eight calls to 999 in the three months that followed.

Greg added: “Our team’s work with high intensity users demonstrates that with the right approach, frequent callers can receive the care they need without repeatedly turning to emergency services.

“This work demonstrates how collaboration and compassionate, tailored support can transform lives and relieve pressure on emergency services.”