Crucial emergency care system to be scrapped by NHS England within months

An IT system that prevents 999 call-handling services from being overwhelmed is set to be withdrawn by NHS England in an effort to save money.

NHS England has confirmed it will not renew the contract for the Intelligent Routing Platform (IRP), and that the service will cease to be available within three months.

NHS England now proposes that individual ambulance trusts will be responsible for tackling delays in answering calls, as was the case before the pandemic. HSJ understands that ambulance leaders are very concerned by the decision and the speed with which it is to be implemented. 

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Source: Health Service Journal (Paywalled), 14 April 2025