Patient transport union ballots members over strike as morale hits "all time low"

Coperforma has derecognised the GMB Union and said it was seeking legal advice over the ballot with the firm still embroiled in a storm of complaints from patients who have been left waiting sometimes not picked up at all.

Meanwhile 17 staff have left Coperforma’s fifty-strong call centre workforce in less than three weeks.

Gary Palmer, GMB regional organiser, said “After speaking to distressed and devastated staff GMB has found no alternative but to implement this further sanction against Coperforma who continue to fail our members.

“Morale is at an all time low and the situation is exacerbated by Coperforma management.”

It comes after yesterday's edition of The Argus reported that Coperforma’s mobile phone app could confirm only 6,100 journeys had been completed in the first two weeks of service operation, which compared unfavourably with historic SECAmb numbers and anticipated averages.

Yesterday a spokeswoman for the company said that Coperforma was certain more journeys had been completed, but that they had been recorded outside of its systems and that more information would be made available once data had been cleansed.

GMB union members now have until next Friday (April 29) to vote on whether they are in favour of strike action, industrial action short of strikes, or neither.

However the GMB union is no longer recognised by Coperforma, the company which started providing non-emergency patient transport services to Sussex patients on April 1, having won the £60m four-year contract last year.

Coperforma said that it would not be commenting on possible strikes and was seeking legal advice over the union’s actions.

Previously the company said that it had all the unions involved engaged in a consultation, but that the GMB said they were ‘not interested in a beauty parade’ and declined to participate. Coperforma continued discussions with the other unions and appointed Unison.

Telephone operators in Coperforma’s Demand Centre are having to deal with patients who may have been on hold for over half an hour - on Monday The Argus tested their phone lines and our reporter was kept waiting for first 21, and then 35 minutes.

Questioned amidst rumours of resignations, a spokeswoman for Coperforma said: “A total of 14 temporary staff have had their contracts come to an end.

“A further 3 permanent staff have resigned and we understand have accepted job offers with their previous employer Secamb.”

Previously the company confirmed that it had 49 staff working in Demand Centres across the south of England, with 30 staff transferring into the company from Secamb and the Patient Transport Bureau when the contract changed hands.

CHAOS OF SERVICE NOT WORKING AS IT SHOULD

THIS WEEK, a Coperforma spokeswoman told The Argus: “The total number of patients not being transported each day has fallen from 450 at the beginning of the contract to as low as two over the last seven days.”

The company insists that the service continues to improve, although despite being asked to provide data to the Clinical Commissioning Group on a weekly basis, that break-down of information is not yet available.

But to whatever extent the chaos of the handover three weeks ago has now abated, it is clear that the service is still not functioning as it should.

This week Wendy Jennings contacted The ArgusThe Argus to explain that she was forced to take an emergency prescription of oral morphine to combat pain following Coperforma’s failure to provide transportation.

The 64-year-old, whose replacement knee has given her more and more pain in the 15fifteen months since her operation, was let down by the company five times in a-week-and-a-half.

On Monday, April 11, Wendy was picked up on time from her Portslade home but had to wait two hours after the agreed time to be collected from Worthing Hospital. Contractually, the Service Level Agreement gives Coperforma a 45-minute window.

On Wednesday, April 13 she was picked up on time, but the driver due to collect her from the Royal Sussex County Hospital never materialised. She got a taxi home.

Her husband Noel told The ArgusThe Argus: “I was put through to [Coperforma Chief Executive] Michael Clayton by his head office.  “He apologised but to me apologies are cheap. He agreed that if a car is 15 minutes late I should phone for a taxi and I would be reimbursed.”

The following day Wendy required an emergency diagnostic appointment in Falmer. The car was booked to pick her up at 8.45am for an urgent 9.20am appointment.  When it didn’t arrive she called Coperforma at 9am, and, she said, “they were unable to give any answer as to where the vehicle was”.

As a result her husband had to park in the car park, forcing Wendy to walk to the entrance of the centre, whereas official vehicles can park in controlled bays next to the doors.

She said: “In the walk from the diagnostic centre car park to the door and back I hurt my knee so much I had to phone my GP because I was in such agony.

“I called 111 once I got home. I couldn’t put my foot on the ground, the pain was nine out of 10.  “The paramedic called my consultant who prescribed oral morphine but they didn’t have any so the chemist had to bring it. By 5pm I was in bed I was in so much agony.

“For five days I could hardly walk.

“An ambulance could have driven me right up to the door but you can’t park there.

“I had the worst pain of my life as a result of Coperforma not turning up.”

For Monday of this week, Wendy had booked a Coperforma vehicle to transport her to another appointment –- this time at the Princess Royal at Haywards Heath –- which she was told would arrive at her home between 1.10pm and 2pm, for a 2.55pm appointment. It did not arrive, and she had to get a taxi.

And then this Wednesday, when she called Coperforma in the morning to ask where her pre-booked transport was, she was told to make other arrangements because they did not have a driver spare.

Her husband Noel, 67, said of Coperforma: “If 10ten was good, and zero was bad, I’d rate them minus 10.

“We were never let down when we had the other transport system. It’s getting worse, there’s no doubt about it.”

The Jennings’ frustrations come in the context of a service which is now under investigation by an independent body, looking at Coperforma itself, and how the CCG handled and managed the handover.

Up until March 31, the patient transport service in Sussex was provided by SECAmb and a now-defunct body called the Patient Transport Bureau.

On, April 1, Coperforma took over and, partly as a result of patient confidentiality rules, had their first opportunity to examine the patient data which would inform their service provision.

Coperforma said four in 10ten of more than 300,000 lines of data were inaccurate or incomplete.

The spokeswoman said pressures at the point of handover were also caused by two additional factors.

She said: “The previous provider advised all patients to call the booking number again to re-confirm or book journeys on 1 April 1 (not necessary) thus crashing the call numbers for NHS staff and patients.

“The new office and field staff only came over to Coperforma on the day of handover.”

The company responded to suggestions that the handover had been poorly pre-planned, saying: “Coperforma’s planning for the handover of the service included opening new offices locally to support the effective transfer of staff from SECAmb and ensuring that sufficient transport resources were to be available to meet the patient demand outlined by the CCG.

“In addition, further capacity was added to meet potential additional volume which may materialise due to pressures on the Hhospitals across Sussex.

“An overlay team was also recruited ahead of contract commencement to enable staff being transferred to be trained.”

None of which impressed the Jennings terribly much. Noel said: “What that implies to me is that Coperforma weren’t big enough to handle the job.”

An independent investigation is due to report its findings in mid June.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH DELEGATES RESPONSIBILITY

YESTERDAY The Argus addressed six questions to Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health, about the ongoing debacle around patient transport in Sussex.

The questions we wanted Mr Hunt to answer were:

1. Does he believe that provision of patient transport by Coperforma is fit for purpose?

2. Does he believe the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was right to award the contract to Coperforma?

3. Does he believe that dialysis, chemotherapy and other patients in Sussex are in safe hands?

4. Does he believe that the CCGs competently managed the handover?

5. Does he have confidence in Wendy Carberry, CEO of the lead CCG?

6. Has he invited the Care Quality Commission to look into the matter?

However the Department of Health insisted that NHS England was the responsible authority and was an “arms length” body to which the Health Department delegated responsibility. 

A spokesman for the department said: “The local NHS has launched an independent enquiry into issues with patient transport services in Sussex and we expect the NHS to ensure patients continue to get high-quality services in the area.”

The Argus then sent our questions to NHS England. 

A spokesman for NHS England South responded: “We are aware of the situation with the non-emergency Patient Transport Service in Sussex. As lead commissioners of the service, High Weald Lewes Havens CCG are working with the new provider, Coperforma, to ensure the service meets the needs of patients as quickly as possible.”

High Weald Lewes Havens CCG did not respond to any of The Argus’s questions yesterday.