Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow Patient Transport Services Procurement. Patient and Public FAQ Full version

Transcription

1 Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow Patient Transport Services Procurement Patient and Public FAQ Full version July

2 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow are currently reviewing the non-urgent NHS Patient Transport Services, with NHS North West Surrey CCG acting as the lead commissioner for the new Patient Transport Services contract. These FAQ have been developed to provide patients, carers and the public with full information on the new Patient Transport Services procurement. If you need further information, please or write to: Patient Transport Services Procurement North West Surrey Clinical Commissioning Group 58 Church Street Weybridge Surrey, KT13 8DP What are non-urgent Patient Transport Services? Non-urgent Patient Transport Services provide routine, pre-planned transport for patients who need to attend hospital, medical centres and outpatient appointments and cannot make their own way there due to recognised medical conditions which fulfil specific eligibility criteria. They also provide pre-planned transport for patients who require clinically trained staff to transport them because of their medical requirements for example, patients requiring dialysis, carry out hospital discharges and transfer patients to hospices, nursing and care homes. Patient Transport Services staff are trained in patient care and assessment, basic life support, manual handling, airway management and are able to recognise the signs and symptoms of many conditions. Patient Transport Services do not include urgent (999) ambulance trips. The Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow Patient Transport Services currently provide approximately 190,000 trips each year. 2

3 How are non-urgent Patient Transport Services booked? Patients currently book the service through Surrey County Council or via their clinician / point of care directly with SECAmb via the web / phone. This service is free at the point of use for people who meet certain medical criteria which would prevent them from getting to their appointments without this assistance. Current situation How are Patient Transport Services currently delivered? Patient Transport Services for Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow are currently provided by South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb). This contract has been in place for three years and costs approximately 6.5m each year. This contract currently expires on 30 September 2016; however, we are in negotiations to extend this until 1 April 2017, when the new service will take effect. NHS North West Surrey CCG is the lead commissioner for Patient Transport Services in this area and is leading the procurement for a new Patient Transport Services provider, to commence on 1 April How do patients currently access Patient Transport Services? Surrey County Council provides a central booking service for patients requiring Patient Transport Services. This is a separate contract which costs approximately 200k each year. Patients may also book their journeys directly through SECAmb. This contract also expires on 30 September 2016; however, we are in discussions to extend this until 1 April 2017, when the new service will take effect. Which geographic areas are covered by the current contract? The current core Patient Transport Services contract covers all of Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow, divided into the following NHS CCG regions: North West Surrey CCG Guildford & Waverley CCG Surrey Downs CCG East Surrey CCG Surrey Heath CCG North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG Contractual access agreements include the following outlier CCGs in the Surrey Patient Transport Services delivery: Hounslow CCG 3

4 National context and case for change What is happening nationally? Patient Transport Services across the UK have changed over recent years to introduce a competitive market to an arena which traditionally has been served by NHS Ambulance Trusts. These changes have largely been driven by CCGs seeking to reduce costs while improving patient care and experience. Competitive tendering has led to a number of private sector companies entering the Patient Transport Services market. As a result, the Patient Transport Services market now includes a number of public, private and voluntary sector providers who operate nationally alongside existing ambulance Trusts who continue to work within their own regions. How have private sector providers changed the Patient Transport Services market? The introduction of private sector providers has allowed some regions to develop more integrated Patient Transport Services, where they form part of the larger social transport market. This shared resource model means that, for example, minibuses used for school transport, special education needs or social care can also transport Patient Transport Services patients and visa versa. How are Patient Transport Services monitored? Unlike the emergency 999 service there are no national KPI targets for Patient Transport Services. The lack of national guidelines means that it is left to lead CCGs to develop and adopt service provision and set performance targets that meet the needs of their local patients, acute Trusts, other healthcare providers and the other CCGs who are party to these contracts. As a result, there are now a wide range of local Patient Transport Services contracts across the country with different service provisions and different KPI targets. 4

5 New Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow Patient Transport Services Procurement What are the big issues around this procurement? Each of the different Patient Transport Services models across the UK has its own advantages and disadvantages. We now have an opportunity to be innovative and think about the various options that best suits the requirements of Surrey and North East Hampshire patients and carers. What makes this area different? We have an increasing ageing population and a greater number of people with debilitating comorbidities which will create a future requirement for many more trips to appointments, yet no additional funding will be available to support this. We also have the opportunity for a new central booking service, to ensure that eligible patients have access to suitable transportation. The new central booking service will also continue to signpost ineligible patients to alternative transport options, which may include voluntary or locally authority approved services. Have other organisations helped shape these new Patient Transport Services? As lead commissioner, North West Surrey CCG has sought advice and guidance on this procurement to help inform the service specification and commissioning decisions. These organisations include Derbyshire, Norfolk, South Coast Ambulance Service and Fareham and Gosport CCG. Additionally, clinical colleagues across these CCGs have provided their comments and input into the new service version and model. Additionally, Surrey County Council organised and facilitated a January 2015 workshop in which the areas for improvement in the new PTS contract were formulated. What broad service improvements will the new contract provide? Representatives from local hospitals, the current service providers, patients, community transport providers and Surrey and North East Hampshire CCGs met in January 2015 to understand the clear areas for improvement in the new contract, which are: Patient focused Timely discharges Reliable, timely attendances A safe, friendly service 5

6 What are the main improvement objectives for the new service provider? The main improvement objectives for the new Patient Transport Services provider are to: Offer an improved booking and referral system to ensure that the eligibility are consistently, fairly and universally applied and alternatives are offered if people are not eligible for Patient Transport Services Improve communication with service users, using technology where possible to keep patients informed through a single point of entry for callers, departure lounges and boards, etc. Improve service quality, efficiency and the overall patient experience Work with the minimal number of contractors, to improve efficiency and patient experience Integrate with social care transport Provide better coordination with hospital discharge procedures + an easy system for hospital staff to use Deliver financial efficiencies How will the proposed Patient Transport Services model of care change under the new contract? We are engaging with people working in health and social care, service users and carers during June and July 2015 to develop the new Patient Transport Services model of care. Strong clinical leadership will be built into the new Patient Transport Services. In broad terms, the new model is intended to shift from a traditional transportation approach to a model that offers patients, who are largely low acuity, or able to walk to and from their vehicle with minimal assistance, a wider range of alternative transport methods, rather than ambulance services. What are the main commissioning options for the new Patient Transport Services? We currently have two high level commissioning options for the new Patient Transport Services which are under review with the commissioning team for further development. We are also seeking patient and public views on these options. Option 1: two provider organisations working in partnership to deliver seamless Patient Transport Services Option one would involves two contracts with two organisations. One contract would be for a standalone central booking service and the other contract would be for standalone non-emergency patient transport services. 6

7 Option 2: one prime provider organisation delivering all Patient Transport Services Option two is a prime provider, which would involve one contract with one organisation providing and managing the central booking service and all transportation services, with options to sub-contract. Patient and public engagement How will patients and the public have their say on the new Patient Transport Services? North West Surrey CCG is working with CCGs across Surrey and North East Hampshire and Farnham to ensure that patients, carers and the public have the opportunity to have their say on the new Patient Transport Services. The following forthcoming PTS patient and public engagement events will be held: Date Sponsoring CCG Venue Time 15 July North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG Princes Theatre, Princes Way, Aldershot, GU11 1NX July Open event Dianthus Building, Wishbone Way, Goldsworth Park, Woking, GU21 3RT 28 July Guildford and Waverley CCG Upper Hall, Trinity Centre, 5 Trinity Churchyard, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3RR Additionally, patients and the public have been invited to take a survey on the North West Surrey CCG website, which also contains FAQ and other useful information on this procurement. Patients and the public have been encouraged to Contactus2@nwsurreyccg.nhs.uk with their enquiries. Patient Transport Services Eligibility Criteria What are the eligibility criteria for Patient Transport Services? The Department of Health issued eligibility criteria for Patient Transport Services in

8 Has the eligibility criteria changed? No, there has been no change to these national guidelines. Going forward the existing national guidelines will be interpreted by Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow CCGs in line with Department of Heath Guidelines and will be universally adhered to, to ensure that the right patients receive the right Patient Transport Services. Everyone who is eligible for these services will continue to receive them. Next steps What happens next? North West Surrey CCG will continue to work with the Surrey, North East Hampshire and Farnham and Hounslow CCGs to refine the service specification for a new Patient Transport Service that best meets the needs of local people and will deliver the service improvements our patients require. Feedback from our patient and public engagement events will help shape this service specification, ensuring that the new Patient Transport Service offers users an improved service and experience. There will then be a formal competitive tender process, during which prospective service providers for both the central booking service and transport service will demonstrate how they would deliver our new, improved Patient Transport Service. How long will this take? It is anticipated that the procurement process will be completed by the end of September 2016, with the new service taking effect from 1 April This allows enough time to carry out a thorough process and develop a service that meets the needs of local people in the future. This period will also give any new provider(s) a six month mobilisation period to ensure the new service is appropriately delivered from 1 April