RADOSS: Supporting the ambulance service to safely convey fewer patients to hospital by developing a risk prediction tool: Risk of ADverse Outcomes after a Suspected Seizure

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When ambulance clinicians respond to emergencies, they sometimes struggle to decide if a patient should be taken to Accident and Emergency (A&E), especially if the patient has complex health conditions. Without specialized knowledge, assessing the risks and benefits of A&E care can be challenging. Clinicians have expressed a need for a ‘tool’ to help them estimate the benefits of taking a patient to A&E and the risks of not doing so. Our project aims to develop such a tool for adults who have experienced a suspected seizure (a “fit”). Many people with seizures are already diagnosed and prefer to rest at home and inform their regular doctor rather than go to A&E, which can be inconvenient and inefficient. We have consulted with service users, specialists, and ambulance clinicians to gather ideas on what information might help predict the benefits and risks of taking a patient to A&E (e.g., vital signs, medications given, location of the seizure, time of day).

To develop the tool, we request access to an extract of CUREd+ to analyse anonymised medical records of individuals seen by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service for seizures in 2019 and 2021. Using the 2019 data, we will: 1) Compare the recovery and health outcomes of those who were and were not taken to A&E. 2) Identify how many people were unnecessarily taken to A&E. 3) Determine if it’s possible to calculate benefits and risks using information available to ambulance clinicians at the time.

We will then use the 2021 data to: 1) Test how well the tool predicts risks and benefits for patients seen in a different year. 2)This project is a collaboration between service users, clinicians, and researchers. It will provide information on risk(s) and benefit(s) that could immediately inform clinicians’ decisions. If a ‘tool’ that works is developed, the next step would be to evaluate its helpfulness.

26 August 2025

In progress

Clinicians have expressed a need for a ‘tool’ to help them estimate the benefits of taking a seizure patient to A&E and the risks of not doing so. Our project aims to develop such a tool for adults who have experienced a suspected seizure (a “fit”). Many people with seizures are already diagnosed and prefer to rest at home and inform their regular doctor rather than go to A&E, which can be inconvenient and inefficient. This project is a collaboration between service users, clinicians, and researchers. It will provide information on risk(s) and benefit(s) that could immediately inform clinicians’ decisions. If a ‘tool’ that works is developed, the next step would be to evaluate its helpfulness.

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Yorkshire and Humber Secure Data Environment