A MAJOR row erupted today over plans to use NHS 24 nurses to respond to 999 calls.

Under the controversial plan, thousands of patients calling for an ambulance would instead receive a phone call to assess the situation before a decision would be made to send an ambulance.

The plan, to streamline emergency calls as early as the spring, has sparked immediate concern.

Dr Alan McDevitt, secretary of Glasgow's GP committee, said: "Obviously assessing a patient on the phone is a little more risky because it is always more risky not to see a patient in person.

"People's perception of NHS 24 is still that it is an obstruction to getting care, but it comes down to how clever they are that it is the right people they divert."

The move will result in the least urgent cases being dealt with by staff on the helpline instead of ambulance crews.The Scottish Ambulance Service would link up with NHS 24 to evaluate 999 calls from across the country.

Doctors have expressed concern over the plan as the health hotline has struggled to cope with the responsibility of taking out-of-hours calls for GPs.

Around 15% of calls to the ambulance control room could be handled by nursing advisers, according to health chiefs.

Up to 6000 emergency calls a month in Scotland would be dealt with over the phone if the proposals are given the go ahead.

Software to allow cases to be transferred directly to NHS 24, to prevent patients from having to repeat their details, is currently being developed.

The helpline has come under fire in recent years and faced criticism when it began handling calls on behalf of GPs.

Dr George Crooks, medical director of NHS24 and interim medical director of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: "We are still asking patients to make a decisions about which part of the service they need to access.

"Common sense at these times sometimes goes out the window.

"People will sometimes make an inappropriate choice and we should not blame them for that, so we have to have a way of making sure we can route patients to the most appropriate end point.

"Rather than expecting if you phone 999 you always get a white van and two men in green suits, we have to flow patients through the system."