Your experience of patient transport services

The current contracts for non-emergency patient transport services (PTS) end in March 2016.

There are two separate contracts which are being reviewed. One is for the local PTS service, currently provided by South West Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT). The other contract is for the service specifically in place for patients who need renal dialysis and is currently provided by Complete Transport Solutions (CTS) a consortium of local taxi firms.

Three local clinical commissioning groups (CCG’s) – Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset are working together to commission these services from 1 April 2016.

What are Patient Transport Services?

Patient Transport Services (PTS) is a service available to those patients who have specific medical reasons why they need this transport and support for their journey to their medical appointment which is often at a hospital, but sometimes at a community health centre.

Local CCG’s are not planning on making significant changes to the current services, or the eligibility criteria which are set nationally and issued by the Department of Health for local implementation by CCGs.

Why are the CCG re-commissioning PTS?

Our current contracts will be coming to an end in March 2016, and we are obliged to conduct a procurement exercise to secure future contracts.

We are not aware of any particular issues with either providers, and we generally receive positive feedback in relation to providers. Our current contracts will be coming to an end in March 2016, and we are obliged to conduct a procurement exercise to secure future contracts.

This will also be an opportunity to improve on current services, where required. We are working with many local health organisations to understand what is needed for the services to run successfully, and where improvements can be made.

The way healthcare is provided has changed, and we know the local PTS may also need to adapt to meet changing patient needs.

We would like your feedback

If you or someone you care for has used the current patient transport services provided by SWASFT or CTS in the last 12 months, please let us know about your experience. We are interested in all feedback from individuals who used the service, carers and family members, both positive and negative to help us make sure we get this right.

We have designed a quick questionnaire which should only take a few moments of your time to complete:

You can complete the patient transport survey here or you can send an e-mail or letter with your feedback to the following address.

Jeremy Richards
NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit
Suite 15, Corum 2
Corum Office Park
Crown Way
Warmley
South Gloucestershire
BS30 8FJ
Email: jeremy.richards@swcsu.nhs.uk

If you would like further information about this survey you can visit the North Somerset CCG website here or contact Jeremy Richards at jeremy.richards@swcsu.nhs.uk