Patient’s dismay at long hospital transport delays
Disabled woman waited five hours for G4S private ambulance
Seriously ill people are being let down and hospital staff put under pressure by late and unreliable patient transport, it’s been claimed.
Jaine Meredith-Kite is calling on contractor G4S to get its act together after a spate of missed appointments and long waits for a private ambulance.
She claims other vulnerable patients are too afraid to speak out.
The 56-year-old left her job at Kent Police’s call centre in 2010 after she was diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy. This rare and degenerative muscle-wasting condition has left her barely able to walk or drive and needing regular check ups on the condition of important muscles, including her heart.
Mrs Meredith-Kite, of Oriole Way, Larkfield, has found getting to appointments an uphill battle since the firm took over the £90 million Kent and Medway Patient Transport Service in July 2016 – when troubled previ- ous operators NSL opted not to seek a contract renewal.
She missed two appointments – one in July and another in March. The most recent one was for a heart check-up in Rochester, something she had waited on for a year. G4S told her it didn’t have a suitable vehicle.
She was also late for a meeting in July and was left waiting for five hours after a consultation in January.
This week she was told transport hadn’t been arranged to take her from a diabetes centre.
She said: “I am so frustrated. G4S is really failing to provide transport to Kent patients. I also feel very strongly it is inconveniencing hospital staff.
“I have heard many other patients with the same problem. I met one elderly couple who waited five hours to be taken home.”
But Mrs Meredith-Kite says it isn’t the hard working staff to blame, but poor management, which she claims have been slow to respond to complaints.
“I have to use them as I cannot drive any more. I have no other choice as taxis prove too expensive,” she said.
G4S’s target pick-up from hospital is one hour. It was three hours under NSL.
The Healthwatch group is surveying patients’ experiences of G4S. The service received 90 complaints between December and January. But it is considered an improvement on the previous operator and the company is mobilising more staff to deal with a greater than expected demand.
Russell Hobbs, managing director of G4S transport services, apologised to Mrs MeredithKite for the difficulties with her transport.
He added: “We know this is a vital service and have made substantial progress in cutting delays.”
Mr Hobbs said the majority of 1,200 journeys were completed on time and without incident.