People dialling 999 for an ambulance in Hampshire could in future be referred to a NHS Direct nurse telephone helpline.

The new system has been proposed by Whitehall to deal with the rise in demand on the service and non-urgent calls.

In Hampshire, the number of 999 call-outs rose by 12% last year to 96,802. Of these, only a quarter were life-threatening.

In a report to Hampshire Ambulance NHS Trust board, it was said work has already started with NHS Direct on developing the new computer software and protocols for the new system.

At present, ambulance services automatically send out vehicles if people ask for them and take all callers to the nearest accident and emergency department. Under the new system, people callers will be quickly assessed by phone and ambulances sent to genuine emergencies.

NHS Direct will handle non-urgent callers who could be referred to their GP, pharmacist or a walk-in NHS Direct centre.

The shake-up would allow ambulance services to target their resources and respond quicker to the most urgent calls, such as heart attacks. It would also reduce pressure on busy A&E departments.

NHS patient watchdog, Winchester and Eastleigh Community Health Council, has broadly welcomed the propsals.

Joint chief officer, Christine Allen, said: "I wouldn't be worried about it as long as the person answering the 999 call was trained in resuscitation techniqueslike control staff are now.

"If it is life-threatening, they need to keep the caller on the phone and talk them through what to do. That's crucial."

Another initiative being considered is the introduction of community paramedics to treat non-urgent 999 callers in their own homes. Other plans include 14 new fully-equipped ambulances on the road by the year's end, a third paramedic motorcycle and rolling out the first responder scheme across the county.

Currently, there are 17 schemes mainly in rural areas with volunteers trained to give advanced first aid until an ambulance arrives.

Hampshire Ambulance Service met the Government's target of reaching 75% of life-threatening cases within eight minutes early in the year, but narrowly missed it in September and October. Richard Mawson, chief executive of the ambulance service, said he was "extremely hopeful" the service was now back on track.

One reason for the dip in performance was the loss of key personnel at the ambulance communications centre in Romsey Road, Winchester.

Eleven controllers had quit their posts since April. While six new people have been recruited, there are still vacant posts. About 6% of the ambulance trust were sick at any one time over the last year.

The trust has 70 ambulances, 12 emergency response cars and two motorbikes. They were involved in 127 accidents in 2001/2002, up on the 85 figure for 2000/2001.

But the £51,000 total repair bill was about half the previous year because there was less damage to vehicles.