An award-winning Nottinghamshire support service has been recognised as “committed to delivering outstanding care to our patients”.
Their efforts have been acknowledged after working tirelessly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS) have offered transport to patients unable to travel independently to and from Nottingham hospitals.
As a team, they have clocked-up nearly 190,000 driving miles over a nine-month period to help vulnerable people.
Debra Dudley, the NEPTS Service Lead, said: “We do more than simply take our patients from A to B. We offer patients a caring and empathetic service, supporting their safe and timely transfer to and from hospital”.
Voluntary roles within the emergency services have been available since before the outbreak of Covid-19, however, their work became vital in supporting the health and well-being of the people of Nottingham.
She continued:” We’re leading the way at EMAS. I believe this is because of our volunteers’ passion and dedication in reducing anxiety that our patients may have otherwise faced in figuring out alternative modes of transport, which would not be able to meet their specific needs throughout their journey”.
Alongside providing a high-quality service for the patients, they also support volunteers by giving them PPE, claim packs, equipment top-ups and a listening service.
Joy Weldin, Head of Patient Transport Services added: “We’re thrilled that NHS England recognises how vital our volunteers are to delivering outstanding care to our non-emergency patients, which allows our ambulance crews to respond to patients experiencing life-threatening emergencies”.
The service has taken pressure off an already over-worked ambulance crew who have then been able to direct their services towards more urgent emergencies.
Due to their success, the temporary contract has been extended for a further six months, using funds provided by NHS England.
In 2019, prior to the pandemic, volunteer Sandra Miles, explained how the service works and why it is so important.
If you feel this service may be able to support your own healthcare experience, you can contact the team on 0300 300 3434 for further details.
