Non-urgent patient transport services
EEAST provided a non-emergency patient transport service (NEPTS) under five separate contracts, across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, north east Essex, and West Essex.
The service model encompasses an eligibility screening call handling and booking service, known as CallEEAST. Some bookings were made through an online booking system available at numerous hospital sites across the region.
For patients who are not eligible for NEPTS, we continued to offer advice on alternative transport options, such as community car schemes, voluntary sector providers or bus and taxi services.
The planning and dispatch of journeys is undertaken in locality operational teams, and supports patients attending essential appointments for renal dialysis, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, as well as routine hospital outpatient appointments. In addition, we provide transfers between treatment centres, and transport patients back to their place of residence following discharge from hospital.
During the 2022/2023 financial year, our non-emergency patient transport services delivered just over 500,000 journeys.
Whilst the restrictions required during the COVID-19 pandemic were eased, we continued to see a higher than usual level of patients needing to travel alone. We have identified that there has been a delay in returning to business-as-usual processes and that some clinics and patients favour individual journeys.
This caused challenges to meeting levels of demand and resulted in the continued use of private ambulance provision and use of taxis together with increased costs. Our focus was on reviewing efficiency and maximising vehicle loading where appropriate.
Digital improvements
The replacement programme for handheld personal digital devices (PDAs), that enable our crews to receive patient and journey details throughout the working day, has been completed. This project has included functionality to enable devices to be updated remotely rather than manually, thereby increasing productivity further.
Last year, we had a significant project to increase NEPTS reporting frequency and functionality - during the year, this project went live, and is now regularly used by the management team. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the timeliness of information available; rather than waiting for the monthly contractual reporting, details are available in near real time. Information is available in tabular and graphical format, and users are able to drill down to granular detail. The system is in routine use for both internal and external reporting.
Fleet and vehicles
We continued to invest in our PTS fleet, with approval gained for the procurement of 96 new vehicles.
Rollout commenced towards the end of the last quarter and a significant improvement in vehicle reliability with fewer vehicles off the road due to mechanical issues was anticipated. In addition, our patients will benefit from a more comfortable journey.
Our people
Recruitment and training of colleagues was a key workstream throughout the year, though we continued to experience higher levels of vacancies in some areas of high-cost living. EEAST increased the number of bank staff recruited and trained, many of whom take up substantive appointment as opportunities arise.
Colleague engagement has also been a key focus during the year, with engagement events held in both face-to-face and remote settings.
We also held networking sessions for peer colleague groups, such as discharge co-ordinators, front of house, and entry level managers, who undertake the same roles but do not have the opportunity to meet due to the large geographical area we cover. These sessions have been successful in ensuring that our teams are able to share best practice and develop a support network.
We are very proud of how our patient transport service (PTS) colleagues delivered services throughout the year and continued to put the patient at the centre of everything they do.