Patient Transport Services

The request was successful.

Christopher Stapleton

Dear Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,

I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions on your Patient Transport Services:
 
Patient Transport Suppliers
 
1)                    Which company or companies held the contract to supply your patient transport services in each year since 2009?
 
2)                    How much did you spend on patient transport in each year since 2009?
 
3)                    What is your policy on carrying carers?
 
4)                    Please share your Trust's patient transport policy.
 
Contract
 
5)                    In your contract specification with the provider, what is the maximum time, from when transport is requested, within which the patient must be collected?
 
6)                    Please state what other standards (e.g. cleanliness) are written into the contract specification.
 
7)                    How do you monitor whether the contractor is complying with the minimum standards in the contract?
 
8)                    What are the penalties if the contractor breaches the minimum standards of the contract?
 
9)                    Is there a patients' user group involved in the oversight of the patient transport contract? If not, do you have any mechanisms through which patient transport users are involved in the governance of patient transport?
 
10)                 When is your contract up for renewal?
 
Complaints and cancellations
 
11)                 How many complaints did you get re patient transport month by month in each year since 2009? Please state what categories these were classified by (e.g. driver behaviour, lateness, etc.) and how many complaints were in each category.
 
12)                 How many hospital appointments have been missed due to patient transport lateness (other than due to severe weather conditions affecting the patient transport service) in each year since 2009?

13)                 How many times in each year since 2009 was there a discharge delay due to patient transport issues?
 
14)                 How many times in each year since 2009 did patients cancel being picked up by patient transport (because of fear of lateness) and make their own way?

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Stapleton

foi rfh (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Dear Mr Stapleton,

Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act. The reference for this request is FOI 641.

You will receive a response from us within 20 working days or an explanation as to why this is not possible.

Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team

-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Stapleton [mailto:[FOI #214067 email]]
Sent: 28 May 2014 11:23
To: foi rfh (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST)
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Patient Transport Services

Dear Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,

I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions on your Patient Transport Services:

Patient Transport Suppliers

1) Which company or companies held the contract to supply your patient transport services in each year since 2009?

2) How much did you spend on patient transport in each year since 2009?

3) What is your policy on carrying carers?

4) Please share your Trust's patient transport policy.

Contract

5) In your contract specification with the provider, what is the maximum time, from when transport is requested, within which the patient must be collected?

6) Please state what other standards (e.g. cleanliness) are written into the contract specification.

7) How do you monitor whether the contractor is complying with the minimum standards in the contract?

8) What are the penalties if the contractor breaches the minimum standards of the contract?

9) Is there a patients' user group involved in the oversight of the patient transport contract? If not, do you have any mechanisms through which patient transport users are involved in the governance of patient transport?

10) When is your contract up for renewal?

Complaints and cancellations

11) How many complaints did you get re patient transport month by month in each year since 2009? Please state what categories these were classified by (e.g. driver behaviour, lateness, etc.) and how many complaints were in each category.

12) How many hospital appointments have been missed due to patient transport lateness (other than due to severe weather conditions affecting the patient transport service) in each year since 2009?

13) How many times in each year since 2009 was there a discharge delay due to patient transport issues?

14) How many times in each year since 2009 did patients cancel being picked up by patient transport (because of fear of lateness) and make their own way?

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Stapleton

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foi rf (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Dear Mr Stapleton,
 
We are in the process of drafting a response to your FOI below.  With
regards to Q6, we would be grateful for clarification as to what further
standards you are interested in.
 
Many thanks,
Freedom of Information Team
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Jackson Veronica (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST)
Sent: 28 May 2014 11:36
To: Christopher Stapleton
Subject: FOI 641 - Patient Transport Services
 
Dear Mr Stapleton,
 
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act.  The
reference for this request is FOI 641.
 
You will receive a response from us within 20 working days or an
explanation as to why this is not possible.
 
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Team
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Stapleton
[[1]mailto:[FOI #214067 email]]
Sent: 28 May 2014 11:23
To: foi rfh (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST)
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Patient Transport Services
 
Dear Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,
 
I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions on your
Patient Transport Services:
 
Patient Transport Suppliers
 
1)                    Which company or companies held the contract to
supply your patient transport services in each year since 2009?
 
2)                    How much did you spend on patient transport in each
year since 2009?
 
3)                    What is your policy on carrying carers?
 
4)                    Please share your Trust's patient transport policy.
 
Contract
 
5)                    In your contract specification with the provider,
what is the maximum time, from when transport is requested, within which
the patient must be collected?
 
6)                    Please state what other standards (e.g. cleanliness)
are written into the contract specification.
 
7)                    How do you monitor whether the contractor is
complying with the minimum standards in the contract?
 
8)                    What are the penalties if the contractor breaches
the minimum standards of the contract?
 
9)                    Is there a patients' user group involved in the
oversight of the patient transport contract? If not, do you have any
mechanisms through which patient transport users are involved in the
governance of patient transport?
 
10)                 When is your contract up for renewal?
 
Complaints and cancellations
 
11)                 How many complaints did you get re patient transport
month by month in each year since 2009? Please state what categories these
were classified by (e.g. driver behaviour, lateness, etc.) and how many
complaints were in each category.
 
12)                 How many hospital appointments have been missed due to
patient transport lateness (other than due to severe weather conditions
affecting the patient transport service) in each year since 2009?
 
13)                 How many times in each year since 2009 was there a
discharge delay due to patient transport issues?
 
14)                 How many times in each year since 2009 did patients
cancel being picked up by patient transport (because of fear of lateness)
and make their own way?
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Christopher Stapleton
 
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Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[2][FOI #214067 email]
 
Is [3][Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
requests to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust? If so, please contact
us using this form:
[4]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
 
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
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********************************************************************************************************************

This message may contain confidential information. If you are not the
intended recipient please inform the
sender that you have received the message in error before deleting it.
Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail or
take any action in reliance on its contents:
to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

Thank you for your co-operation.

NHSmail is the secure email and directory service available for all NHS
staff in England and Scotland
NHSmail is approved for exchanging patient data and other sensitive
information with NHSmail and GSi recipients
NHSmail provides an email address for your career in the NHS and can be
accessed anywhere

********************************************************************************************************************

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #214067 email]
2. mailto:[FOI #214067 email]
3. mailto:[Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust request email]
4. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/change_re...
5. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/help/offi...

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Christopher Stapleton

Dear FOI team(ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST),

Thank you for your response.

Re: Question 6, I am interested in all applicable standards.

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Stapleton

foi rf (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Stapleton,
 
Further to your request under the Freedom of Information Act, please find
our responses in blue below.
 
Your appeal rights
 
We hope that you will be satisfied with our response to your request.  If
not, you may ask us to review our decision in which case you should write
to David Sloman, Chief Executive, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,
Pond Street, London  NW3 2QG, explaining what you would like us to review
and including your reference number.  If you are not satisfied with the
internal review, you can appeal to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see
[1]http://www.ico.gov.uk/.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Jan Aps
Board Secretary
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Stapleton
[[2]mailto:[FOI #214067 email]]
Sent: 28 May 2014 11:23
To: foi rfh (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST)
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Patient Transport Services
 
Dear Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,
 
I would be grateful if you could answer the following questions on your
Patient Transport Services:
 
Patient Transport Suppliers
 
1)                    Which company or companies held the contract to
supply your patient transport services in each year since 2009? 
 
Response: Please see table below.
 

+---------------------------------------------------------+
| FY 2013/14 | MSL Ambulance |
|--------------------+------------------------------------|
| FY 2012/13 | MSL Ambulance |
|--------------------+------------------------------------|
| FY 2011/12 | MSL Ambulance |
|--------------------+------------------------------------|
| FY 2010/11 | M&L Ambulance |
|--------------------+------------------------------------|
| FY 2009/10 | M&L Ambulance |
|--------------------+------------------------------------|
| FY 2008/09 | M&L Ambulance |
+---------------------------------------------------------+

 
2)                    How much did you spend on patient transport in each
year since 2009?
 
Response: Please see the table below. 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   |   |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |2009-10 |2010-11 |2011-12 |2012-13 |2013-14 |
|-------+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------|
|Total |3,472,589.35 |3,533,038.02 |4,147,630.51 |4,293,436.60 |4,963,155.74 |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 
 
3)                    What is your policy on carrying carers?
 
Response: Patients are allowed escort(s) in accordance with the Department
of Health guidelines for non-emergency patient transport, and relatives
and friends are more than welcome to meet the patient at the hospital. 
Any request for an accompanying escort must be made clear at the time of
the booking.  All bookings requiring an escort will need to be passed by
the Matron for the clinical area involved.  There is a maximum of one
escort per patient and the escort must be fully mobile.  Patient Transport
Services will only convey escorts for the following situations:

* The patient is a child, under 16, and the parent or guardian will
accompany them
* The patient has mental health problems or learning difficulties
* The escort will act as a translator for the purpose of direct of
clinical care whilst being transported.

 
4)                    Please share your Trust's patient transport policy.
 
Response:  Please see attached. There have been some small redactions
made, namely the removal of contact numbers.
 
Contract
 
5)                    In your contract specification with the provider,
what is the maximum time, from when transport is requested, within which
the patient must be collected?
 
Response: At the time of booking, the contractor is required to make an
assessment of the journey time.  This estimation should be relayed to 
trust personnel making the booking and the patient.  If on pick up, the
contractor’s estimation of journey time requires amendment, e.g. due to
bad weather conditions, then the contractor must advise the trust
accordingly.
 
6)                    Please state what other standards (e.g. cleanliness)
are written into the contract specification.
 
Response: We sought clarification from you with regards to this question,
namely could you identify what ‘other standards’ you are referring to.  We
have since received clarification from you and are in the process of
responding.  However, as the majority of the questions have been answered
we did not want to delay responding sending you as full a response as
possible. 
 
7)                    How do you monitor whether the contractor is
complying with the minimum standards in the contract?
 
Response: The trust holds monthly patient transport policy and performance
review (PT-PGG) meetings, a weekly complaints and incident meeting, and 2
x daily bed reports meeting.
 
8)                    What are the penalties if the contractor breaches
the minimum standards of the contract?
 
Response: There is no penalty.  However, failure to perform  can result in
a percentage of the invoice payment being at risk.  These specific details
are considered commercially sensitive and as such are being withheld under
section 43 of the FOI Act.
 
9)                    Is there a patients' user group involved in the
oversight of the patient transport contract? If not, do you have any
mechanisms through which patient transport users are involved in the
governance of patient transport?
 
Response: There is the PT-PGG meeting mentioned above.  There is also a
governor sub-group on patient experience which is chaired by a
non-executive director.  This is attended by four governors and one of the
group’s objectives is to improve the patients’ experience of non-emergency
patient transport services at the trust.   
 
10)                 When is your contract up for renewal?
 
Response: The trust is currently engaged in a procurement process.   
 
Complaints and cancellations
 
11)                 How many complaints did you get re patient transport
month by month in each year since 2009? Please state what categories these
were classified by (e.g. driver behaviour, lateness, etc.) and how many
complaints were in each category.
 
Response: Please see the tables below.
 
Financial Year by Sub-subject
 

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |Attitude|Assessment |Delay in |Equipment|Inappropriate|Mode of |Transport |Transport failed to pick up |Transport| |
|  |of staff|of Transport|Transport|failure |driver |transport|reliability|patient |incident |Total|
| | |Needs | | |behaviour |incorrect| | | | |
|-------+--------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------+-----------+-----------------------------+---------+-----|
|2008/09|2 |1 |18 |1 |1 |0 |8 |0 |0 |31 |
|-------+--------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------+-----------+-----------------------------+---------+-----|
|2009/10|5 |6 |17 |0 |4 |0 |6 |0 |0 |38 |
|-------+--------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------+-----------+-----------------------------+---------+-----|
|2010/11|1 |4 |19 |0 |6 |1 |18 |6 |3 |58 |
|-------+--------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------+-----------+-----------------------------+---------+-----|
|2011/12|2 |0 |14 |0 |1 |0 |6 |2 |0 |25 |
|-------+--------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------+-----------+-----------------------------+---------+-----|
|2012/13|1 |3 |10 |0 |5 |1 |5 |2 |2 |29 |
|-------+--------+------------+---------+---------+-------------+---------+-----------+-----------------------------+---------+-----|
|2013/14|3 |1 |8 |0 |2 |0 |3 |0 |1 |18 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 
Financial Year by Month opened
 

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  |Apr |May |Jun |Jul |Aug |Sep |Oct |Nov |Dec |Jan |Feb |Mar |Total |
|---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------|
|2008/09 |1 |3 |0 |1 |0 |3 |3 |3 |4 |3 |7 |3 |31 |
|---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------|
|2009/10 |7 |1 |4 |1 |1 |1 |3 |5 |5 |1 |4 |5 |38 |
|---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------|
|2010/11 |4 |1 |5 |4 |0 |5 |3 |9 |7 |7 |8 |5 |58 |
|---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------|
|2011/12 |5 |4 |1 |4 |2 |2 |0 |2 |2 |1 |1 |1 |25 |
|---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------|
|2012/13 |2 |1 |1 |3 |4 |2 |2 |3 |3 |3 |3 |2 |29 |
|---------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-------|
|2013/14 |1 |0 |0 |3 |1 |2 |0 |4 |1 |2 |3 |1 |18 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 
 
12)                 How many hospital appointments have been missed due to
patient transport lateness (other than due to severe weather conditions
affecting the patient transport service) in each year since 2009?
 
Response: The trust does not record this level of detail.
 
13)                 How many times in each year since 2009 was there a
discharge delay due to patient transport issues?
 
Response: The trust does not record this level of detail.
 
14)                 How many times in each year since 2009 did patients
cancel being picked up by patient transport (because of fear of lateness)
and make their own way?
 
Response: The trust does not record this level of detail.
 
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Christopher Stapleton
 
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Is [4][Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust request email] the wrong address for Freedom of Information
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References

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2. mailto:[FOI #214067 email]
3. mailto:[FOI #214067 email]
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Christopher Stapleton

Dear FOI team, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,

Many thanks for your responses.

For Question 5 I need to see clarification from you. The question is asking about the waiting time between the booking of transport and the collection of the patient in that transport. Your response seems to be about journey times. Could you please tell me instead what is the maximum time, from when transport is requested, within which the patient must be collected?

Question 6 - thank you, I look forward to your response

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Stapleton

Christopher Stapleton

Dear Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust's handling of my FOI request 'Patient Transport Services'.

I still await a response to Question 5 of my FOI Request. This response is now long overdue and you are now in contravention of the Freedom of Information Act.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

Yours faithfully,

Christopher Stapleton

foi rf (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

1 Attachment

 
Dear Mr Stapleton
 
Thank you for your email and I am very sorry that you have not received
the outstanding information that you requested.  I have checked our
records and, when we received your email of 21 July, the additional
information was requested from colleagues within the trust.  This was
provided to the FOI team but I have been unable to establish whether the
information was forwarded to you or why this did not occur.  There was a
changeover in responsibility for handling FOI requests around this time
and it is possible that that your request for the outstanding information
was overlooked during this process and I do apologise for this.
 
I now enclose the key performance indicators for the patient transport
system which address questions 5 and 6 of your original request (pasted
below for ease of reference)
 
5)     In your contract specification with the provider, what is the
maximum time, from when transport is requested, within which the patient
must be collected?
 
6)    Please state what other standards (e.g.cleanliness) are written into
the contract specification.
 
 
Your appeal rights
We hope that you will be satisfied with our response to your request, now
that the outstanding information has been provided.  If not you may ask us
to review our decision in which case you should write to Ms Emma Kearney,
interim director of corporate affairs and communications, Royal Free
London NHS Foundation Trust, Pond Street, London  NW3 2QG, explaining what
you would like us to review and including your reference number.  If you
are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the
Information Commissioner.  The contact details are: Information
Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see [1]http://www.ico.gov.uk
 
Yours sincerely
 
Alison Macdonald
Acting trust secretary
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Free Hospital
Internal extension 36475
Executive Office, 2nd Floor, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Stapleton
[[2]mailto:[FOI #214067 email]]
Sent: 01 December 2014 15:51
To: foi rf (ROYAL FREE LONDON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST)
Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Patient
Transport Services
 
Dear Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust,
 
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information
reviews.
 
I am writing to request an internal review of Royal Free London NHS
Foundation Trust's handling of my FOI request 'Patient Transport
Services'.
 
I still await a response to Question 5 of my FOI Request. This response is
now long overdue and you are now in contravention of the Freedom of
Information Act.
 
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on
the Internet at this address:
[3]https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Christopher Stapleton
 
 
 
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[4][FOI #214067 email]
 
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
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intended recipient please inform the
sender that you have received the message in error before deleting it.
Please do not disclose, copy or distribute information in this e-mail or
take any action in reliance on its contents:
to do so is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.

Thank you for your co-operation.

NHSmail is the secure email and directory service available for all NHS
staff in England and Scotland
NHSmail is approved for exchanging patient data and other sensitive
information with NHSmail and GSi recipients
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accessed anywhere

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References

Visible links
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2. mailto:[FOI #214067 email]
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