Publish date: 21 November 2025
A new Urgent Community Response NWAS pathway went live on 12 November, and is enabling Category three and four, 999 referrals to be transferred directly from NWAS into Adastra using the Interoperability Toolkit (ITK).
The new pathway is delivering clear system benefits by routing these incidents directly to Mersey Care for rapid clinical assessment, enabling NWAS to redirect ambulance capacity toward higher-acuity cases, improving overall response performance. This digital transfer model ensures patients receive the right care at the right time, and where appropriate, are safely managed in the community to reduce avoidable A&E attendances. Early indicators show the pathway is strengthening operational flow across the system, easing pressure on ambulance services and acute sites while maintaining safe, timely, and appropriate care for patients.
Since launch, the service has received 248 referrals, with 42% safely diverted from ambulance conveyance, 25% accepted by UCR, and 13% redirected to alternative community pathways.
