Ambulance services

Tender description

The NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups of Eastern Cheshire, South Cheshire, West Cheshire, Vale Royal, Warrington and Wirral have requested provision of non-emergency patient transport services to be delivered under terms of the NHS Standard Contract and to agreed service levels. Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) comprises the movement of eligible patients whose condition is not considered an ‘emergency’ between patients’ homes, hospitals, community setting or other NHS funded treatment centres for people referred for consultations, treatments or procedures. This encompasses a wide range of vehicle types and levels of care consistent with the patients’ medical needs. Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) comprises the movement of eligible patients whose condition is not considered an ‘emergency’ between patients’ homes, hospitals, community setting or other NHS funded treatment centres for people referred for consultations, treatments or procedures. This encompasses a wide range of vehicle types and levels of care consistent with the patients’ medical needs. The services sought include both the call handling and the patient transport elements and any solution proposed must be robust, accessible by a number of systems and encompass service management requirements. For example, the online and telephone booking systems must be capable of confirming a patients’ conformance with transport eligibility criteria in real time. This contract requires a diverse fleet of vehicles resourced to accommodate patients who require: Car vehicles. Single man patient transport vehicles. 2 man crew patient transport vehicles Wheelchair accessible vehicles. Stretcher vehicles. Bariatric and multi-people lift vehicles. Appropriate real time patient services booking and management systems. The new service will simplify and improve the efficiency of Non Emergency Patient Transport pathways and ensure equity of service provision in line with legislation and Department of Health and NHS England regulations and guidance. The services will be flexible, available on short notice and accessed through a Centralised Booking Service. This may also include the provision of unplanned services on a same day or limited time basis. The key strategic objectives of the procurement and subsequently delivered service are to: Satisfy CCGs responsibility for the provision of suitable transport for eligible patients as per the then current NHS England Eligibility criteria. Ensure patients equity in access to healthcare services. Deliver measureable improvements in patient outcome and experience. Obtain most economically advantageous bid incorporating value for money.