News
The Communiqué - Issue No 2 - June 2009
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Medical Services welcomes Department of Health plans to introduce a new system of regulation for all patient transport services from April 2011.
We have closely followed and been involved in the formulation of the new system and in our view, we believe the Department of Health staff involved in the consultation listened carefully and we are grateful to them for all their hard work. We also believe the changes will better serve patients and will raise standards of service. It really is a breath of fresh air.
We are though, keeping an eye on the terminology. " The Government(?) has decided to revise the definition of Patient Transport Services that are within the scope of registration as transport services provided by means of a vehicle which is designed for the primary purpose of carrying persons for the purposes of treatment".
This definition has been set out in the draft regulations. The aim is to ensure that that all vehicles used for this purpose will be covered, with the exception of Taxi's , hospital cars & and other similar vehicles.
Just enough glue for Plain English campaigners to get stuck in?
The system, which comes within the mandate of the new Care Quality Commission, requires registration for providers - both ambulance trusts and independent sector - under a common framework of legally enforceable requirements.
The requirements on quality and safety include assessing and monitoring the quality of service; cleanliness and infection control; safety, availability and suitability of equipment; complaints, fitness of workers and staffing.
Elsewhere inside the Department of Health , a new Standard contract for ambulance services and arrangements for Patient Transport Services has been introduced and also a New complaints procedure for health and social care fits snugly into the operation.
Not to be left out, the new Independent Safeguarding Authority has decided that PTS is a "regulated activity" and staff carrying out PTS duties will be required to register.
All these changes are designed to improve the quality of patient care and enhance safe working and are very much in line with the principles and training undertaken by Medical Services.
We do wonder how much planning took place between the different agencies but the changes add up to a seismic regulatory shift; nevertheless we are still lobbying for a national standard training qualification for PTS staff and wider discussion regarding the independent provider and civil contingencies provision.
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Medical Services has won a tender to provide Moorfields Eye Hospital with patient transport services.
The tender process was managed by AFM Consulting and Joe Sheehan, Director of Medical Services said: “We were selected because we understood the brief and had the people and resources to meet the very special needs of the patients of Moorfields.
Moorfields was founded in 1804 and is today the oldest and one of the largest centres for ophthalmic treatment, teaching and research in the world.
In 2004, Moorfields was one of the first organisations to become an NHS foundation trust. More recently, UCL Partners, of which it is an integral part, was accredited by the Department of Health as one of the UK's first academic and health science centres.
Medical Services is responding to a call by The Patients Association for all primary care trusts to assess people’s transport needs for getting to and leaving hospital after a recent survey* discovered that more than 80% were never offered the service.
Since the end of 2008 we have been successfully rolling out the leading edge online Cleric APTS booking system to meet the needs of our contracted trusts in England & Wales and Joe Sheehan, Director of Medical Services, part sponsor of the survey, has now announced a plan to include transport eligibility assessment option as part of the process.
“We have written to Trusts recently, who between them will authorise a million patient journeys in 2009 to offer a new on-line tool for Trust staff to use to meet the Department of Health’s eligibility criteria for patient transport services.
“By using the tool and applying the criteria consistently, PTS will be provided to patients who really need it. Trust staff booking transport will also be able to review patients need for transport as their health fluctuates.”
Adding this module to the booking service is a major step forward because it will
Using this system could mean the end of contracting out patient screening services and also enable trusts to hold the data in one place.
Medical Services is now organizing on site workshops for contracted trusts to demonstrate the benefits of the new patient assessment function and for information contact (add email).
“Travel assessments are not a luxury and must be incorporated into care plans. Patients are sick, often elderly, infirm or disabled. They should be receiving proper assessment for their travel needs before and after hospital care”, said Katherine Murphy, the Association’s Director.
The survey was carried out among 1,000 people at two London hospitals and was the first of a nationwide research project to find the public’s view of their hospital experience from start to finish.
Patient transport is one of the key criteria of the research and these are the main findings so far:
Asked how they felt about safety during their journeys, 67% of the respondents rated their transport as excellent to good but 16% rated their transport as poor or unacceptable.
The Association says more research is needed to ascertain why they felt unsafe – was it speed, behaviour of other passengers or the driver, or the quality of the vehicle?
* For more details about the survey contact David Davis, david.davis@medicalservicesuk.com
Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, regarded as a leader in the field of orthopedics both in the UK and world-wide, has selected Medical Services to provide patient transport services. Medical Services takes over from the London Ambulance Service on June 1st and was selected after a rigorous public tendering process managed by the NHS LPP. RNOH provides a comprehensive range of neuro-musculoskeletal services and specialist rehabilitation for chronic back sufferers. It plays a major role in teaching. Over 20% of all UK orthopedic surgeons receive training at the hospital; also together with the Institute of Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Science, it has a long track record of innovative research leading to new devices and treatments. Kevin Shire, Head of Business Development for Medical Services: said: “We were confident we had a strong bid as our broad base of PTS ambulance stations across England and Wales can support the dedicated crews in Stanmore. We are thrilled to be given the contract and wish to thank all the staff who have been involved from tender submission to implementation.”
The Luton and Dunstable NHS Foundation Trust is the first winner of the Medical Services Crystal Clear Policy Award.
The award, for the best use by a contracted Trust of paper free technology in PTS bookings and reporting, was presented recently to the L&D team (Elaine Duncan, Phil Spencer, Sue Austin, Nicola House, Ramila Talsania, Charni Maxen) by Joe Sheehan, Director of Medical Services and Judith Jackson, Contract Manager, Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire.
Elaine Duncan (Facilities Helpdesk and Projects Manager) said: “It’s good for the team at the L&D to receive such recognition. We continue to work closely with Medical Services to ensure we get the best possible use out of Cleric for patient care and safety”.
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