MPs tell patient transport firm to get a grip

Peter Kyle and Caroline Lucas put pressure on Coperforma as patients warned lives are being put at risk.

The company took over the non-emergency service from South East Coast Ambulance Trust (SECAmb) nearly two weeks ago, but the problems continue.

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield, a former nurse, has asked both the Health Secretary and the head of the Care Quality Commission to examine how problems at Coperforma have affected patient safety since they took over the service.

Ms Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "We know that private sector involvement in health provision is inefficient, but these tragic cases bring home the real life effects of the Government’s ideological obsession with the marketization of our NHS.

"The company needs to get a grip, and do so fast."

Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, said: "Being a 'new service' is no excuse for what has happened and I hope lessons are learned by those who have awarded the contract - I shall study their investigation in depth.

"My sympathy goes out to all the families affected by this because they certainly don't need this extra worry during times of health scares and treatment.”

Yesterday, The Argus heard from two patients whose pre-booked ambulances did not arrive.

As a result, one Shoreham woman, 61, who asked to remain anonymous, still does not know whether she has cancer.

The patient’s daughter, Nicki, said: “I phoned on Tuesday to check that the right equipment was coming, they said they’d be there between 11.15 and 11.30 on Wednesday."

When no ambulance had arrived by midday, Nicki was kept on hold by Coperforma for more than half an hour. Eventually she was told that no appropriate ambulance was available.

Nicki said: “It is a joke, they are risking people’s lives.”

Last week Coperforma sent an unsuitable vehicle to pick up 75-year-old Edwin Walker.

As a result he could not be taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath for a consultation over a missing kneecap.

Yesterday his ambulance failed to arrive altogether.

Neither Coperforma, nor the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) which appointed them, could say yesterday how many patients had been affected.

Neither could they confirm whether fewer patient journeys had been affected in recent days, than the many that were missed when the contract changed hands amid major problems on April 1.

The Department of Health said that it was a matter for NHS England.

The CCG and Coperforma both apologised to patients. Coperforma said they were looking into reports that the journey-booking app which is the centre of their software model does not work in parts of rural Sussex due to poor mobile phone coverage.

It has also been revealed that patients have had to pay for taxis as a result of the problems.

Yesterday Brighton and Hove University Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed that they also had to pay for private vehicles in order to help patients get home.

Coperforma said it is considering requests from hospitals and patients for reimbursement of transport costs on a one-by-one basis.

WHAT HAS GONE WRONG WITH THE SERVICE AND WHY

What is patient transfer?
It provides transportation for patients needing radiotherapy, or chemotherapy, and renal patients coming in for dialysis.

What has gone wrong?
Ambulances and other vehicles have failed to turn up or arrived late, or the wrong vehicles have been provided. The unions say hundreds of patients have been affected.

Why are these problems happening?
The problems in patient transfer across the county started on April 1 when the service provider was changed.

Who did this before?
Previous to April 1, the service was provided by the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) working with a body called the Patient Transport Bureau.

Why are they not doing it any more?
The Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) put a new contract out to tender which did not allow the same organisation to both manage the transport provision and provide it, thus disqualifying SECAmb.

Who is doing it now?
The £60 million, four-year contract was won by Coperforma, based in Hampshire.

How is the service different?
Coperforma works with subcontractors, including private ambulance companies, to transport patients but it provides a software-based system. Rather than a specific crew regularly picking up a certain patient, journeys are distributed based on location and workflow of cars. 

Why has it gone wrong?
Coperforma says that problems with the data handover from SECAmb and the Patient Transport Bureau created significant problems on April 1. Staff migrating from one company to the other were not briefed in advance, and patient data was not transferred. Additionally, patients were encouraged to call Coperforma on April 1 to reconfirm bookings, which overwhelmed its systems. In a statement SECAmb said they were "disappointed" with Coperforma's statement, and thet staff had been receiving one-to-one meetings since February. There are also reports the way the new system is built means it is not working in parts of rural Sussex because of poor phone reception. Now two weeks on from the handover date, many patients are still being left stranded as The Argus reports today.

Who is looking into this?
Coperforma has apologised to patients and opened a probe into what has gone wrong. So has the CCG which gave it the contract. MPs have voiced their concern and written to the secretary of state for health. The Department of Health said it was a matter for NHS England. NHS England said it was aware of the situation and the relevant CCG was working with Coperforma to ensure the service meets the needs of patients as quickly as possible.