MPS WELCOME NHS PATIENT TRANSPORT INVESTIGATION AND IMPROVEMENTS
10.08.2016 For immediate release: Local MPs, Amber Rudd and Huw Merriman, have welcomed an independent report in to the NHS patient transport service in Sussex. Issues around the transport contract, which was transferred last April from the Sussex East Coast Ambulance (SECAmb) service to Coperforma Limited, led to a public furore after many vulnerable patients missed their hospital appointments or arrived hours late. Hospital staff were required to work extra hours to deal with the situation and local NHS Trusts were put to extra financial cost as a result.
The independent report, commissioned by the Clinical Commissioning Group of doctors responsible for awarding the contract, has criticised the transfer process and the services delivered. It has made ten recommendations for future NHS service transfers and measures needed by the CCG until Coperforma's performance is fully meeting requirements.
Both local MPs were contacted by constituents who told of their distress from missing, or arriving hours late for, hospital appointments. The MPs visited hospital staff and patients, some in renal units, to hear the problems first hand from patients and staff. A series of meetings were held in Parliament between Sussex MPs, the CCG and Coperforma in order to understand the problems, hold the providers to account and to press for urgent action.
Huw said "I welcome the report and would urge those involved to take heed of the lessons learned. Having organised and chaired the meetings with my colleagues in Sussex, I am pleased that the CCG and Coperforma returned to see us last month and were able to demonstrate that the targets, which they had set themselves, were beginning to be met. The scale of transferring this service was clearly underestimated but I believe we should now look to the future and ensure that performance continues to improve."
Amber said "The experience suffered by vulnerable patients and NHS staff was unacceptable. The independent report rightly makes it clear that there were serious failings and recommends that compensation is considered. I would like to thank all of those who worked so hard in our hospitals to cope with the delays to appointments. Many of the staff worked late to catch up. Patients should be assured that their MPs will continue to work together to monitor performance and keep up the pressure for patients who rely on Coperforma to deliver them to and from hospital."
Prior to the report being released, Huw spoke with the Chief Officer of the CCG, Wendy Carberry, to discuss the report's recommendations and current performance levels. Huw said "With 94% of patients now being transported to hospital on time, the figures from Sussex are amongst the best in the country. This is welcome and I asked the Chief Officer to thank the staff who have worked hard to turn this around. There are still issues around back-pay for drivers and an investigation which has seen six members of Coperforma's call handling staff suspended for alleged irregularities. We are certainly not at a 'business as usual' standard but we are in a much better place and must continue in that space."