Urgent Community Response will attend less clinically urgent calls within two hours and treat patients for a range of conditions at home, including falls to diabetes support and people who are uffering from confusion.

Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: 'These teams are helping to reform the way we deliver care in the NHS – helping us make the shift from hospital to community as part of plans for the future through the 10-Year Plan. Not only is this better for patients, but it is better for the NHS too, particularly as we manage what is already a busy winter for staff.'

More than two fifths (86%) of all Urgent Community Response team referrals are for patients aged 65 or over with the latest data showing that more than two-thirds of people (67%) who received an urgent community response team response, was able to get treatment at home, without the need for a hospital attendance.

NHS teams saw 85% of patients seen within just two hours in September, well above the 70% target rate.

Rory Deighton, acute director at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘These sorts of programmes are what it looks like. Not only is it better for patients, but it also has the potential to reduce the pressure on A&E departments by cutting waiting times, minimising the use of "corridor care", and allowing ambulance crews to focus on reaching life-threatening emergencies sooner.'

Health minister Karin Smyth, said: ‘We are determined to shift care from hospitals into the community through our 10-Year Health Plan. This initiative is a fantastic example of how beneficial it can be to give more people access to non-urgent care at home or within their local community, especially during the winter months. Shifts like this will transform the NHS into a neighbourhood health service.

‘We're also investing an extra £26bn in the NHS and have set out our Plan for Change to get the health service back on its feet and make it fit for the future.'