NHS axes private ambulance deal
HEALTH: NHS chiefs have terminated a contract with a private ambulance firm following a catalogue of problems with vital transport for patients in the region.
Health leaders say they will find a new provider of nonemergency transport in North Lincolnshire for frail patients travelling for NHS appointments.
NHS CHIEFS have terminated a contract with an under-fire private ambulance firm following a catalogue of problems with vital transport for patients in the region.
Health leaders say they will find a new provider of non-emergency transport in North Lincolnshire for frail patients travelling for NHS appointments and home after hospital stays.
Doncaster-based Thames Ambulance has faced scrutiny over its services amid complaints of long delays and cancellations of transport after taking over from the previous NHS operator 18 months ago.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) ordered urgent action by the company after identifying 23 areas for improvement in an inspection six months ago including concerns over the maintenance and cleaning of ambulances and equipment safety.
NHS officials are believed to have uncovered further issues after site visits to services run by Thames in Scunthorpe and Grimsby last month. In a statement, NHS North Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group said it would commission a new contract for patient transport.
Some improvements had been seen with the Thames operation but “our patients are still continuing to experience difficulties with the service provided”.
“We are disappointed to have reached this position; however, it is extremely important to us that our local population receive good care,” officials said in a statement.
They would work with Thames to ensure the service to patients was not affected, with a smooth transition to a new provider. Local MPs have raised the problems with services with Ministers, joining councillors in calling for Thames to be stripped of the five-year contract, believed to be worth more than £1.2m annually in North Lincolnshire.
Coun Holly Mumby-Croft, who chairs North Lincolnshire Council’s health scrutiny panel, said the move to terminate the deal with Thames was “appropriate and bold”.
“They were failing our residents by providing a shoddy service, despite being given every opportunity to improve,” she said.
“These are vulnerable people who need to get to and from hospital for their appointments. Our residents deserve much better.”
Thames said it was “really disappointed” at the decision, “particularly in the light of the significant improvements that have been made recently” to turn the service around.
Patient transport services run by Thames in other parts of the region including North East Lincolnshire, Hull and South Yorkshire are unaffected by the decision.
CQC officials carried out a follow-up check earlier this month following a detailed inspection last autumn in northern Lincolnshire which led to Thames being handed a formal enforcement notice instructing it to make improvements.
In a report published last month, inspectors said patients faced delays and cancellations, with some paying for taxis to take them home because they had waited so long for booked transport to arrive.
Staff said vehicles “were not always fit for purpose and they were expected to take them out with equipment faults” including problems with straps to secure wheelchairs.
Services in the area were previously operated by the publicly run East Midlands Ambulance Service until NHS officials awarded the contract to the private provider in October 2016. Thames has admitted it had recently expanded too rapidly to cope with its additional workload.