PIONEERING initiatives in emergency health care have earned Teignbridge and the rest of south Devon an additional £1.3 million to ease pressure on the service.

Health chiefs this week welcomed the extra cash made available to just eight NHS and social care groups in the UK which have led the way in developing initiatives which foster timely medical intervention and prevention.

Recipients of the generous handout include South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.

They want people with urgent but non-life-threatening needs to be treated as close to home as possible, allowing emergency services - including A&E and 999 ambulances - to concentrate on serious and life-threatening conditions so that patient survival and recovery is maximised.

The cash injection follows last winter’s £1.1 million boost from a national £200 million NHS ‘transformation’ pot.

Dr Nick Roberts, the CCG’s chief clinical officer, said: ‘Recent work undertaken includes the putting in place of an integrated service for the free-to-call NHS 111 helpline and GP out-of-hours services, provided by Devon Doctors Ltd.

‘This service is in line with the national model, creating quicker access to a wider range of healthcare professionals than has been available before.’

Liz Davenport, chief operating officer at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We all recognise that these initiatives have an important contribution in supporting people to access local services, and thereby reducing the need for urgent and emergency care.’