A pilot scheme designed to reduce unnecessary ambulance call outs and A&E attendances will be extended for a further two years in Chipping Norton.

The Chipping Norton First Aid Unit was launched at the newly-opened Chipping Norton War Memorial Community Hospital in April last year.

And the number of patients using the service more than tripled in the first nine months.

The new hospital off London Road replaced the old community hospital in Horsefair, which had been used since 1920.

In that time, the service has seen the number of people using the unit triple, from less than 30 a month when it launched to more than 100 people in January and December.

The old Chipping Norton Community hospital had a First Aid Unit, but it was run by nurses already working and treating patients on existing wards.

When the new hospital opened last year, the new unit was given dedicated staff employed by South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS).

The Emergency Care Practitioners (ECPs) treat patients with minor problems who walk in on weekday evenings, weekends and bank holidays, as well as responding to 999 calls in the local area.

Alan Webb, director of Transition and Partnerships at Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which commissions local health care, said more patients needed to use the service if it was to become a permanent fixture.

He said: “We’re very pleased to extend this pilot and the initial evaluation is encouraging.

“We do understand that it is a valued service for local people.

“For the unit to be viable for the long term it will need to be treating more people locally for minor injuries and illnesses rather than them using other urgent care services such as A&E or GP out of hours.

“With the support of local GPs and SCAS, we believe there is potential for the service to be further integrated with other local health services.

“This could deliver more efficiency for the service.

“The service will continue to be a pilot and will be fully evaluated in February 2014 based on its sustainability for the long term.”

The pilot has also contributed to a reduction in A&E attendances to major hospitals from the area, the equivalent of about 30 fewer patients a year.