Medical details of injured patients will soon be beamed directly to hospital before their ambulance even arrives.

Every ambulance in Lincolnshire is to be fitted with a rugged Panasonic ToughBook computer by the end of the year.

These specialised touch screen PCs have the capability to survive intense heat, being dropped and being splattered with fluids.

They also allow details of a patient's condition and any medication given by ambulance crews to be relayed to A&E departments electronically.

NHS bosses say that this will save precious time when handing over the care of emergency patients and will give prior warning to A&E staff on the exact condition of a patient.

East Midlands Ambulance Service medical director Dr John Stephenson described the move as a "great leap forward in how we care for patients in the 21st century".

"This is a very exciting change in our clinical practice and the benefits that the new technology offers to patients in terms of safety and quality of care are clear," he said.

"Essentially, it will help our crews do their job and provide the best healthcare they can."

Currently workers have to fill out a paper form on paper and hand it to medics when they arrive at the A&E department.

Lincolnshire spokesman for EMAS, Melanie Wright said: "At the moment an A3 piece of paper with a carbon copy needs to be filled in.

"It has a diagram of a patient's body and lots of tick boxes for paramedic observations."

Ambulance crews in Derbyshire piloted the project nationally and have already updated to the new system.

Staff in Nottinghamshire are currently being trained in the new system and Lincolnshire is scheduled to be onboard by the end of the year followed by Leicestershire and Rutland and Northamptonshire next year.