National framework for inter-facility transfers

Dear BCIS Member,

It has taken a long time to get here but after hard work and strong data from Dawn Adamson, Mamas Mamas, Ashan Gunarathne and others, NHSE England have finally agreed to prioritise STEMI transfer between sites. This is something we have been requesting for for a long time, and it is great to see it implemented.

The wording with regard to interhospital patient transfer for PPCI is that “Ambulance services are asked to ensure…that patients are prioritised for a Category 2 dispatch”.

Our side of the bargain is to ensure that “handovers of patients transferred…are completed within 15 minutes releasing the ambulance to answer other emergency calls”.

Please find below the letter that has gone out to all systems in relation to inter-facility transfers (IFT) for stroke patients or primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) for STEMI patients. 

The IFT framework has been updated on the NHSE website (NHS England » National framework for inter-facility transfers).

Thank you,
Dave Hildick-Smith, BCIS President