The Luscii app captures a patient's vital signs, including heart rate and blood oxygen levels, and data is sent in real-time to the ambulance control room, where remote care clinicians determine the appropriate next steps in care planning.

That could be a referral to the patient's GP, self-care advice or dispatching an ambulance resource, if necessary.

Liam Williams, executive director of Quality and Nursing at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: ‘We want to transform the way emergency care is delivered by caring for more patients in their own home where it's possible to do so, in turn safely reducing the number of patients we take to emergency department.

‘To enable our people to deliver the right care or advice, in the right place, every time, we need to equip them with the right tools. This technology puts us firmly on that path.'

The trust is working with the Small Business Research Initiative Centre of Excellence and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board to pilot the Luscii technology in a small number of care homes in north Wales.

In the coming months, the trust will expand the pilot to other parts of Wales and seek to train its volunteer community welfare responders to support patients and service users in using the app when responding to calls in their community.

Williams said: ‘Community welfare responders are key to supporting their local communities, assisting patients at their time of need and ensuring connection with our remote clinicians.

‘The use of this technology, coupled with the contributions of community welfare responders, allows us to care for patients in the community over longer periods of time, which will allow our clinicians to arrange the most appropriate care from the right service."

Chris Lynes, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board's deputy executive director of nursing, added: ‘We believe this app and the support from community welfare responders will lead to better outcomes and fewer people needing to go to hospital.

‘It's about us working together, smarter.'

In April, the Welsh Ambulance Service was awarded University Trust status by Welsh Government in recognition of its commitment to drive innovation and research.