More Kirkby Patients Get Medical Help Without Using Ambulances

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) published a performance and strategy update in mid‑January 2026 saying that more 999 callers in parts of Merseyside, including Kirkby, are being managed without hospital conveyance. NWAS says this change — part of a ‘Right Care, Right Place’ approach — aims to cope with high call volumes while keeping ambulances available for the most critically ill patients.

According to the NWAS update, more than around 40–45% of 999 callers across the region are now managed through ‘Hear and Treat’ (telephone clinical advice) or ‘See and Treat’ (assessment and treatment at scene) rather than being taken to hospital by ambulance. The shift follows a difficult period in 2024–25 and mid‑2025 when Category 2 (emergency) response times across the North West averaged about 35 minutes (35 minutes 11 seconds), a figure highlighted by independent analysis from the Nuffield Trust and cited in NWAS material.

For people in Kirkby, NWAS says a 999 call is increasingly likely to trigger a consultation with a senior clinician by phone (which may include senior paramedics, nurses or doctors) and, where appropriate, a referral to the Kirkby Urgent Treatment Centre at St Chad’s, which NWAS now uses as a local alternative to A&E for many non‑conveyed patients. NWAS’s reporting notes that St Chad’s is being used as a primary destination for patients redirected from 999/111 who do not require emergency department care.

The service is also making greater use of Community First Responders (local volunteers trained to provide life‑saving care before an ambulance arrives). NWAS’s recent reporting cites hundreds of active CFRs across the region and intensified recruitment in 2025 to bolster early local response. Local patient groups — including Healthwatch Knowsley — say they will continue to monitor the changes, particularly to see whether redirection from ambulances increases waiting times at local urgent care and walk‑in services.