PATIENT TRANSPORT Recommendations
ERS Medical uses daily on-the-ground evaluation, management information, and contract evaluation, to assess and customise patient transport requirements.
ground evaluation, management information, and contract evaluation, to assess and customise patient transport requirements.
Model forecasts procurement needs Additionally, last year, knowing that the healthcare sector would need clarity on how the pandemic would impact the need for additional services, we developed a model that allows us to forecast procurement needs for patient transport, which is based on key variables that have emerged since the onset of the pandemic. By using our Patient Transport Resource Modelling Tool we can provide evidence to support ongoing and upcoming decision making across NHS England and Improvement, CCGs, CSUs, and hospital Trusts. By using data from multiple contracts, and hundreds of thousands of journeys each year, we can identify trends that predict indicative resource requirements by inputting variables such as population size, geography, and service type. The tool also generates a comparison between pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19-impacted resource requirements. We have cross-referenced this model back to our existing contracts to check the efficacy, and the results are able to show the impact of differing levels of capacity and new considerations that must be made.
As we know that the effects of COVID- 19 will be with us for some time, this free tool is available for anyone to use, and can be accessed via our website. As another example, when we ‘went live’ with our service for the NHS in Nottingham towards the end of 2019, we applied our combined knowledge and experience to make significant improvements to service delivery. This resulted in better KPIs for patient pick-up and drop-off times from month one, culminating in an improved patient experience, and smooth patient flow, through the system.
30 Health Estate Journal July 2021
On a daily basis, NEPTS events are often fast-moving and complex, and decisions need to be made quickly and close to the ground. The key to enabling this is having access to accurate data from a single source, eliminating the need to manually seek and collate information, and then using this data to make informed decisions with a patient-centric approach. Our systems for booking, compliance measurement, and HR, track data in real time. This offers insight both to keep patient flow moving, and to track how we are delivering against our contracts. Day-to-day insight and required reporting aside, smooth patient flow means reviewing contract performance on an ongoing basis, providing additional analysis, and making recommendations for improvements. Providers need to go above and beyond management information that only looks at standard contract requirements. They need to look at specific areas of reporting, evaluation, and analyses, that enable areas of continuous improvement, including: n Better patient and staff experience. n Increased journey efficiency/number of patients moved.
n Cost savings for the NHS.
With this type of information, transport providers can support the NHS to ensure that the appropriate elements are in place for smooth patient flow backed up with resilience in the system. This approach also gives us the flexibility to shift resources where they are needed, without sacrificing planned service delivery. To illustrate, we have been able to support the NHS with critical ad-hoc requests such as the roll-out of over 100,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses in the North West earlier this year.
The true value of partnership I believe that patient transport is, and will continue to be, a pivotal element in the NHS’s recovery from the pandemic – ensuring that flow is maintained between health and social care. Both sectors will continue to need consistent support through strong partnership working, which is more important than ever. We also know that our clients in the NHS are very aware of the implications of smooth patient flow that takes care of non- emergency journeys, so that clinical professionals can concentrate on what they do best – providing healthcare to patients.
Just one such opinion comes from Liam Triggs, head of Facilities at Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, who says: “Over the last 12 months of the pandemic, if transport stopped collecting, patients would not have been able to be treated, beds would have been full, and many more COVID patients would not
Andrew Pooley
Andrew Pooley is the managing director of national health and social care transport provider, ERS Medical. With a background in the army and healthcare, he is extremely passionate about delivering a reliable and caring service to the NHS that is based on strong ethics, transparent communication, a responsive approach, and measured decision- making. As MD for a business with a 1000-strong team that delivers essential services across the country, he champions and leads with a well- defined leadership model – Mission Leadership, based on the military principle of ‘Mission Command’. This ethos ‘empowers all managers at all levels to creatively solve problems within a senior manager’s intent’.
have been able to receive life-saving treatments.
“NEPT is a vital cog in the wheel of moving and discharging our most vulnerable patients, to ensure that the Trust is able to help the next patient in need.”
Given how dynamic the health and social care environment is at the moment, flexibility in adapting to changes in patient requirements and customer needs is critical. Embedding this focus into an offer is what makes a service-provider a valued partner, and this is our ultimate goal.
References 1 Department of Health and Social Care. Integration and Innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all (Internet). 11 February 2021 [
https://tinyurl.com/zaajdujt].
2 Pressure Points in the NHS (Internet). BMA 2021 (cited 30 April 2021). [
https://tinyurl.com/57mat8et].
3 2021/22 priorities and operational planning guidance (Internet). NHS 2021 (cited 29 April 2021) [
https://tinyurl.com/6pvc6jtf].
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