PEOPLE who dial 999 with minor injuries will be seen by specialist community teams, under new laws announced by the Government.

Greater Manchester Ambulance Service (GMAS) today backed the plans which will mean paramedics are no longer called out to deal with people with injuries such as cut fingers.

During the past 12 months, GMAS received 196,900 calls which were not emergencies. Examples included someone ringing with a blocked nose, a person who could not stop yawning and someone who had a bandage which was too tight.

The plan, which kicks in from October 1, will overhaul the way non-emergency calls, classed as category C calls, are handled.

The move will also mean ambulance services are no longer judged on how quickly they answer these calls, with the responsibility being handed over local primary care trusts.

The trusts, via the NHS Direct helpline, will offer treatment and advice to patients at home, while allowing ambulance staff to focus on emergencies.

The plans come weeks after figures revealed GMAS as one of the best ambulance trusts in the country at responding to Category A calls - the most serious emergencies.

The service was also recently highlighted as the only ambulance trust in England and Wales to gain a top three-star rating from the Healthcare Commission.

GMAS operations director Derek Cartwright said: "Recent figures show our staff are delivering a fine service for the patients that need them most.

"These changes allow us to use our resources more appropriately, and help us serve the people of Greater Manchester more effectively.

"There are times when sending an ambulance to a house is not appropriate. These changes will not mean that a caller is ignored, but will allow us and our health service partners to provide the right kind of treatment for the patient.

"They will mean more resources can be put into emergency care while the options for non-emergency cases are extended."

The changes are also expected to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, by widening the scope of treatment available to patients.