When people get seriously ill they can become very fed up of constant trips to hospital, and that is obviously magnified when they are sadly suffering from a condition likely to prove terminal in the near future.

When time is of the essence, people tend not to want to waste it with constant trips in and out of hospital, though they know that they obviously need medical care and support right up to the end.

So a helpline which was pioneered in this area and which allows people to receive help and support at home or wherever their chosen place of care is without going to hospital is a great boon.

And the fact that it has proved so successful in its trial areas of Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven that it is now going to be extended to cover hundreds of patients in Bradford is testament to just how well-received this “Gold Line” service is.

Of course, hospital admissions are sometimes unavoidable and this service is not designed to put people off being admitted when they need to, but with trained and experienced nurses on the end of a telephone, that is sometimes enough to help with many problems experienced by ill people.

Sometimes just a reassuring conversation is all that is needed to soothe a troubled mind or allay any fears or anxieties a patient might have, and if that can be done without organising a disruptive trip to hospital, then all the better.

The last thing anyone would want to see is services of this type being used to cut corners or replace front-line care, but given that it is proving to be a boon to those in most need of it, it makes perfect sense to utilise it more.