Recommendation. Transport to Medical Appointments Tameside LINk March 2013

Transcription

1 s Transport to Medical Appointments Tameside LINk March 2013 In May 2012 Tameside LINk developed a questionnaire asking people in Tameside and Glossop what their experiences are of using transport to attend medical appointments. We specifically targeted individuals that were more likely to use the non- emergency ambulance service,, Ring and Ride, and their counterparts in Derbyshire (for residents in Glossop). 240 people completed this questionnaire and the key messages from this survey were fed back to a Transport to Medical Appointments event held in Denton, Tameside. Some of the key messages were: 83% of patients didn t know where to apply for help with the cost of transport when attending a medical appointment 49% of patients wouldn t know who to complain to if they had a complaint about the transport service they use. The volunteer car schemes ( and Glossop Volunteer car Scheme) got 100% of their service users to their medical appointments on time. Only 55% of the non-emergency ambulance service users arrived on time. The main purpose of the Transport to Medical Appointments event was for the commissioners and providers of services to discuss the findings of our survey, and how improvements may be made, with the people who use their services. We then used the notes from these discussions to help us to formulate our recommendations that were subsequently given to the commissioners and providers of services. When patients book transport to get them to a medical appointment they are sometimes given different information about the same service depending on whom they are booking with. For example, a first booking may be through Choose and Book but a repeat appointment may have the transport booked by the clinic the patient is going to. Ensure consistent messages are given. This is particularly important for people who may take longer to get ready i.e. people who are wheelchair users or people who need carer support. Clear communication ready times is important. This service deals directly with the patients, therefore patients receive information directly from. Page 1 of 8

2 Patient Transport Booking Centre The patient transport booking centre, (choose and book) do currently provide the correct information for patients who use the Passenger Transport Service. The Clinical Commissioning Group will ensure that when the Outpatients Department book transport on behalf of a patient (e.g. returning for a follow-up appointment) they communicate clearly with the patient and they give messages consistent with the CCG s PTS booking team. s for Healthwatch Tameside LINk to refer this issue to Healthwatch to discuss further with the Outpatient Departments and Clinics to ensure they have the correct information. Return journeys for outpatients and from clinics etc. can have long delays before an ambulance turns up. This has implications for people who need to eat at certain times i.e. diabetics who are concerned that if they leave the waiting area for food they may miss the transport. Delays in transport can also lead to patients being left in waiting areas on their own after a clinic has closed or a staff member waiting for somebody to pick the patient up when they should be working elsewhere There needs to be good communication with patients about when their return transport is expected. Communication also needs to take place between the transport service, clinic and hospital so they know the patient is ready to be collected. Arrangements need to be in place so that patients can provide for their personal needs without being left behind. Drivers for leave cards with the patients when they have dropped them off for their appointment. The cards have the office telephone number on them, therefore the patients contact directly. Patient Transport Booking Centre The Patient Transport Booking Centre will look into the possibility of alerts being installed on the Cleric booking system, highlighting diabetic need. In terms of the Clinical Commissioning Group, these recommendations mean three things for Outpatient staff: Patients need to be told when their return transport has been informed that they are ready for collection and what time the PTS expects to be there for Page 2 of 8

3 them. Calls to inform PTS that a patient is ready to return should be made as soon as the patient is no longer needed in Outpatients (and if a patient is waiting for transport after their Outpatients clinic ends a staff member should wait with them). If a patient is waiting for transport and it is time to eat, Outpatients staff should make arrangements for them to be able to eat without risk of missing transport (this could be as simple as letting patient go to the restaurant and redirecting PTS staff there to collect them). The Passenger Transport Commissioners The new contract that Arriva will deliver states that 90% of the people who use the service will arrive on time for their appointments. It is expected that nobody should be travelling for more than 60 minutes therefore it is expected that patients will be picked up no more than 90 minutes before their appointment times. There are financial repercussions for Arriva if the contract standards are not met. s to Healthwatch Tameside LINk is to refer this particular issue to Healthwatch in order to ensure that this topic is discussed with outpatient commissioners and providers. Inpatients can be told that they are ready for discharge earlier in the day but then can be waiting for several hours for a Return journey to arrive and they can be left without food and there is no where suitable for them to wait if they have been asked to vacate the bed. Patient transport services** should have the flexibility to collect patients at any time of day for a return journey. There needs to be good communication with patients about when their return transport is expected. And with the transport service so they know the patient is ready to be collected. Arrangements need to be in place so that patients can provide for their personal needs without being left behind. do offer a service for discharge if the patient is not eligible for the Passenger Transport Service Page 3 of 8

4 Passenger Transport Commissioners Arriva will introduce a system called book when ready which will allow the hospitals to inform Arriva of the impending discharge and collection of a patient. Additionally on the Cleric electronic system wards can track vehicles and know where they will be so they can keep a patient informed. People don t know how to access patient transport services or what to expect from them, this includes knowing how far in advance transport needs to be booked and whether or not they have to register with the service. Information about all patient transport services should be offered through all access/referral points (including clinics, G.P s, transport providers and choose and book) and this should be regularly updated. Promotion of patients transport services should be considered through other local information services i.e. libraries, Healthwatch, CCG website and voluntary and community groups. do produce leaflets that are well distributed in places such as Social Services, Clinics, G.P surgeries and Dentists. work jointly with the Patient Transport Service to distribute information about their service. The Clinical Commissioning Group is to communicate to all GP's/Practice Managers (Tameside and Glossop), in order to let them know how patients can and should access and book transport to a medical appointment in a consistent manner. for posters and a webpage on CCG and/or Healthwatch website detailing criteria/telephone contact numbers for all patient transport services that patients can be signposted to. Passenger Transport Commissioner Arriva will have to become proactive in the community to let them know about this service via community groups, libraries etc. The passenger transport service can be booked up to 2 pm on the day before the appointment. Page 4 of 8

5 Arriva will provide information about the services available in the community for those unable or ineligible to access the passenger transport service. for Healthwatch Tameside LINk is to refer this issue to Healthwatch, (the information service) so that information is available to the general public about how to access and book transport to a medical appointment. Patients said that the majority of staff that they came into contact with were good There are some patients that would like to complain about patient transport services but don t know how to complain or are concerned about any potential repercussions. Please feed this back All services should ensure that people have easy access to their complaints procedure and patients should be encouraged to complain in the interest of service improvements. This also needs to inform people how they can make an appeal if they feel their complaint has not been resolved satisfactorily. will add information about how to complain in their leaflets and handbook. Passenger Transport Commissioners The Passenger Transport Commissioners are to approach Arriva to have the complaints procedure available on each ambulance Volunteer car schemes performed better in terms of getting patients to their appointments on time than the contracted ambulance service Volunteer car schemes should be encouraged and supported to further develop the services they offer. There is an added value to this service which is befriending. do recognise that there is a need for driver recruitment. There are currently over 2500 passengers registered for the service of which 1700 are active users. Unfortunately the demand is currently higher than the capacity to deliver therefore have to turn away approximately 5 journeys per day. is currently looking for funding in order to increase capacity. Page 5 of 8

6 Concerns have been raised because vulnerable adults may need to be left alone whilst volunteer car scheme drivers park their vehicles whereas people arriving via ambulance don t have this issue. Hospitals and clinics should recognise that the support offered by volunteer car schemes helps to safeguard vulnerable adults and therefore provision should be made for them to be able to park close to entrance doors, when needed. s to Healthwatch Tameside LINk to refer to Healthwatch in order to further discuss this issue with commissioners and providers Clinical Commissioning Group to discuss further with hospital and clinics Transport needs are not always taken into account when hospital/clinic appointments are booked. For example an appointment for an evening clinic may not fall within the operating hours of all transport schemes. The type of transport required/distance travelled should be taken into account when the appointment time is being fixed. This includes ensuring that the transport is still available for that return journey at the end, if required. Commissioners and providers should work together to ensure that every patient who needs transport to get to an appointment is also able to access transport to get home afterwards regardless of time. operate from pm. encourage people to ask for a change of appointment time if needed. Passenger Transport Commissioners Arriva will be delivering a service from 8 am 6 pm, inclusive, during the week. Procurement is currently taking place with regards to the service offered at weekends, bank holidays and evenings. We should know who is going to deliver this out of hours service in March Page 6 of 8

7 s to Healthwatch Tameside LINk to refer to Healthwatch in order to discuss this issue with commissioners, providers and Healthier Together. When people use mainstream transport services i.e. Ring and Ride the driver does not always understand it is for a medical appointment and this may cause difficulties with return journeys. When patients are booking this service they should make it clear that they are attending a medical appointment and will need a return journey. There should be systems in place to ensure that the transport service record and act on the patients request. Response for Healthwatch Tameside LINk is to refer to Healthwatch to ensure this recommendation is included in the information function for Healthwatch Changes to the delivery of NHS care means that more appointments will be offered in the evenings/weekends and further from home. Commissioners should take transport needs and services into account when commissioning these services. Passenger Transport Commissioners Arriva will be delivering a service from 8 am 6 pm, inclusive, during the week. for Healthwatch Tameside LINk is to refer this issue to Healthwatch in order to discuss further with Healthier Together People who do not have English as their first language are less likely to use a service because of the lack of information available in alternate languages. All transport services should ensure that their services have been promoted particularly to hard to reach people including the Deaf community, BME and blind and partially sighted. All literature re access should be made available in accessible languages in an appropriate format. Page 7 of 8

8 The Clinical Commissioning Group is recommending that all information around access to patient transport services be accessible in other languages and in an appropriate format. Passenger Transport Commissioners Arriva will have to become proactive in the community to let them know about this service via community group, libraries etc. *The Clinical Commissioning Group will take the information contained in this report into account when commissioning a transport service in the future. **we have used the phrase patient transport service to include all services which provide transport for people attending medical appointments (not just the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Service) Tameside LINk will refer these recommendations to the Healthwatch Shadow Board. Tameside LINk is part of the Community and Voluntary Action Tameside family Registered Charity no: Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in England No a: 131 Katherine Street, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 7AW t: Page 8 of 8