Tuesday 15th December 2015 – 2.50pm – Murray MacGregor.
West Midlands Ambulance Service has scooped its first out of area non-emergency patient transport service contract in a deal worth almost £25million over five years
The Trust has been chosen by NHS Blackpool Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG), Lead ambulance commissioners for the North West, to run the service for Cheshire, Warrington and the Wirral starting in July 2016.
The decision comes after a rigorous competitive tendering process and evaluation of potential providers.
WMAS will now work with BCCG and Cheshire commissioners as part of a mobilisation process to ensure a smooth transition takes place with the current provider, North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).
WMAS Commercial Services Director, Mark Gough, said: “We are delighted to have won this contract. We have a very strong team with vast experience in running PTS operations. Currently we complete around 700,000 PTS journeys per year.
“We will be implementing a tried and tested service delivery model that is used elsewhere including neighbouring Staffordshire where we operate a Patient Transport Service, Courier Transport Service and Commercial Services.
“We are particularly pleased that we have been able to keep this important contract within the NHS family and will be working with staff to ensure that we have a very strong presence in the county.
“We know that this will be an unsettling time for staff so will be doing everything we can to ensure that we work as closely as possible with them to reassure them that jobs are safe and that we want to work with them to take the service to the next level.”
The new contract incorporates a number of quality improvements following engagement with hospitals, patients and commissioners. These include:
• Text ahead service, to inform patients when their transport will arrive
• Streamlined quality standards, particularly around the journey arrival and collection times
• Revised process for applying the eligibility criteria to ensure equitable access to the service
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