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Freedom of Information - HWHCT-07

FOI request:

Can you please confirm the name of the providers you have for the following services? 

Please include journey numbers and mobilities for all patient journeys per annum, start date, end date of contracts, include if any extensions may be applicable and initial length of awarded contract. 

  1. Please also include all complaints/concerns for each provider, both formal, informal, DATIX, PALS, any SUI’s and CQC reported incidents etc. 
  2. Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) 
  3. Any Ambulance services not included in the above, including any specialist services 
  4. Mental Health Transport Services 
  5. Pathology Courier Services 
  6. Any other Courier Services 
  7. Patient Taxi services – (for Taxis booked by the Trust are the providers CQC registered?) 
  8. For all courier work, please confirm if you have regular GP runs, if yes how many individual runs, what services you supply the GPs, how many GPs are associated to them and the number of journeys per annum? 

Trust response:

  1. Complaints/concerns - see below.

SUIs/CQC reported incidents – none in relation to patient transport/courier services.

  1. The Trust does not provide or commission a NEPTS.
  2. The Trust does not provide or commission Ambulance services.
  3. We currently hold 1 contract, with the activity totalling 40 for 2021/22.
  4. All pathology courier services are provided inhouse, either by Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust (HWHCT) or Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
  5. All other courier services are provided inhouse, either by HWHCT or Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
  6. A2B Taxis, Redditch ; Crown Taxis, Worcester and Emerald Taxi, Evesham. Taxis booked by the Trust are not required to be CQC registered, no formal agreement contract currently in place.
  7. In-house courier services provided by HWHCT or Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust are responsible for providing GP runs for PCN (Primary Care Network) across

Worcestershire, service includes post, pathology, medical records, supplies and pharmacy. HWHCT complete up to 70 individual runs per day, 5 days a week, excluding bank holiday. Journey’s equate to up to 17690* per annum. The journey number provided is to individual GP practices, we do not hold details of how many individual GPs will be located within each practice [*Calculation 5 x 70 = 18250. MINUS 8 bank holidays (560)].

Patient transport contacts

Reference Number

Date Received

Complaint Type

SDU

Department

Details

Outcome

Upheld or Not?

21/22/0618

01/07/2021

PALS

Corporate

Patient Relations Team

Patient wished to raise concerns regarding the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the arranging of transport to their appointments.

It was advised that our organisation does not manage services at the Queen Elizabeth hospital and contact details for the correct NHS organisation were provided.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/0862

02/08/2021

PALS

Specialist Mental Health & LD Services

MH Liaison Hereford

Mother of service user asked about her daughter’s transport care package.

The social worker was contacted and confirmed that they would contact the enquirer to clarify the arrangements and explain the delay in getting the written information to her in a timely manner.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/0924

09/08/2021

PALS

Corporate

Patient Relations Team

Patient wished to check their appointment details so that they could book their transport to the hospital.

PALS checked on the patient's records and it was established that it was not an appointment made by our organisation, therefore permission was sought to share the details with the correct organisation.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/1591

18/11/2021

PALS

Corporate

Patient Relations Team

Patient raised concern about patient transport services.

Provided patient with the contact details of patient transport services and advised that as an external provider we were not able to look into his concerns.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/1783

16/12/2021

PALS

Corporate

Cash Income & Reporting

Patient's transport to hospital had been cancelled and the service wished to establish whether the Trust has a contract with a taxi firm.

This was passed to Finance who will source the taxi firm.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/2035

03/02/2022

PALS

Corporate

Patient Relations Team

Patient requested transport for an appointment she is attending for the APP service

As advised by the APP service PALS explained to patient that they need to contact their GP practice to organise transport.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/2156

24/02/2022

PALS

Corporate

Patient Relations Team

Enquirer asks if we knew of any transport agencies that her niece could use to transport her daughter to Birmingham Children’s Hospital as she was on a low income

Provided enquirer with link to Birmingham Hospitals website for advice and support.

Not Upheld - Resolved

21/22/2236

15/03/2022

PALS

Countywide Community Services

Apple Orchard - Unit 1

Patient's son raised concern that his father was due to be transported from WCIU to an appointment in Gloucester this morning but he did not arrive and the family were not informed of this or for the reasons that he did not attend.

Contact was made with the son and apologies were offered as an error occurred with transport which resulted in his father nor making his appointment.  It was agreed this would be investigated.

Not Upheld - Resolved