Your questions about the Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS) put to the provider
Healthwatch in Sussex has been working in collaboration with South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation (SCAS), the provider of Non-Emergency Transport Services (NEPTS) across Sussex to support a series of patient forums.
These events allowed users of the service and their families, as well as hospital staff, to ask questions.
Last October, a virtual forum was attended by 13 patients and their families. Also in attendance were representatives from SCAS, and a representative from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
The forum provided an opportunity to share information about SCAS, educate service users on NEPTS and any adaptations made during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the future of the NEPTS contract.
Patients asked questions about:
- Journeys made outside of Sussex and finding hospitals/clinics
- The length of hospital appointments to facilitate the booking of transport
- The absence of hospital liaison staff to ask questions of
- Phone numbers to call
A number of actions were taken away, including:
- The GPS on the vehicles is outdated and therefore this can be problematic when traveling into London. SCAS are rolling out new devices which will have updated mapping which should support team members who are unfamiliar with the areas.
- Patients do not always know how long their appointments are going to be, therefore most state 1 hour which is the default. SCAS explained that they will ensure their system reflect standard appointment times when these are longer. They will work with hospital departments to do this.
You can read the October event report here.
Healthwatch in Sussex is continuing to work with SCAS with a view to encouraging ongoing and regular engagement with the users of Non-Emergency Patient Transport, as well as the services it links to.
If you have an experience of Patient Transport in Sussex then do share it with us via our Feedback Centre or using the contact details below:
Telephone: 0333 101 4007
