Case Study: North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust achieves 80% faster referrals and reduced A&E admissions with Civica’s ERISS

Delivering improved healthcare across the North West of England

The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS), the second largest ambulance trust in England serving seven million people across 150+ miles and handling over a million 999 calls a year, needed better real‑time patient information and faster, more secure referral pathways so crews could give the right care in the right place. To address this, NWAS commissioned Civica to deliver ERISS (the Electronic Referral and Information Sharing System) to supply up‑to‑date patient flags to crews and enable electronic referrals to other NHS and care providers.

Civica’s ERISS gives crews in‑cab alerts about flagged patients, lets GPs and clinicians set and review flags, and automates secure electronic referrals — cutting referral time from about 15 minutes to roughly 3 minutes (an 80% reduction). Since launch, ERISS has attracted 514 organisations (including 300+ GP surgeries), over 3,000 registered users, 7,000 alert notifications and 21,500 referrals, contributed to reductions in A&E attendances and admissions (saving roughly £140 per avoided A&E attendance and over £1,700 per avoided admission), and earned multiple industry awards for Civica’s solution.

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Sam English

Chief Clinical Information Officer