The study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, explored how GPs are used within emergency ambulance services across the UK and why these roles can be effective.
Demand for emergency healthcare continues to rise, putting pressure on ambulance services and emergency departments. One approach increasingly being used is for GPs to support ambulance services by reviewing cases after an initial telephone triage. This can help identify patients who do not need an ambulance or hospital visit and could be cared for in other ways.
Researchers interviewed 27 professionals with detailed knowledge and experience of GPs working in emergency ambulance services. They found that the most common role that GPs carry out is enhanced assessment of patients, often remotely, to determine the most appropriate response to their needs.
The study found that GPs can help ambulance services make more personalised decisions about patient care. Rather than relying solely on standard protocols, GPs can draw on their broad clinical experience, community knowledge and understanding of risk to consider each patient's individual circumstances.
As a result, some patients may receive advice, be directed to more suitable services, or avoid an unnecessary trip to hospital. At the same time, ambulance resources can be reserved for patients with the most urgent and life-threatening conditions.
Lead author Alex Burrell, GP and NIHR In-Practice Fellow at the Centre for Academic Primary Care at the University of Bristol, said: "Ambulance services are under increasing pressure, and it's important that patients get the care that best meets their needs. Our study suggests that GPs can play a valuable role by bringing experience and clinical judgement to complex decisions about care. They help tailor responses to individual patients while also supporting ambulance services to use limited resources effectively."
Senior author Dr Matthew Booker, GP and Associate Professor in Urgent Care and Primary Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, said: "This research helps shed light on how GP roles have become an important part of some ambulance services. Their ability to assess risk, manage uncertainty and identify alternatives to hospital care can benefit both patients and the wider healthcare system."
The researchers found that GPs are particularly effective in these roles because of their seniority, wide-ranging clinical knowledge, communication skills, and experience of managing uncertainty and risk. They are also able to draw on their understanding of local health and care services to identify alternatives to hospital care when appropriate.
Whilst recognising that there are challenges around where best to place limited GP resources in the wider health system, the study identifies that it is a relatively small subset of GPs specialising in urgent care that are filling these emerging roles. It concludes that GPs working in emergency ambulance services can provide benefits for both patients and the healthcare system by helping organisations make more individualised decisions about risk and the use of limited resources.
Paper: GP roles in emergency ambulance services in the United Kingdom: a qualitative realist study. British Journal of General Practice. August 2026.