THE NHS boss in charge when the ambulance contract was awarded to controversial firm Coperforma is refusing to quit.

Wendy Carberry said she intended to keep on working in the NHS despite the problems endured by thousands of patients over the patient transport service crisis while drivers faced losing their jobs.

The High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group chief officer said: "I have worked in the NHS for nearly 40 years and I continue to keep working for the NHS. I have no plans to step down.”

High Weald Lewes Havens was the leading organisation when the seven clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) awarded the contract to Coperforma.

Coperforma took over the patient transport service from South East Coast Ambulance in April but has been beset with problems and complaints from thousands who missed crucial appointments or were left at hospital afterwards.

Last week The Argus exclusively revealed Coperforma was being stripped of its contract and the service will be transferred to South Central Ambulance Service.

Campaigners including Sussex Defend the NHS have called on senior CCG members to be sacked as a result.

The GMB union said all those involved needed to correct the errors and failures made and then an enquiry should be held to "seek redress against those accountable for this fiasco".

Yesterday dozens of workers for Thames, which has a contract with Coperforma to provide ambulances for the transport service, learned they were facing redundancy.

Thames says it is owed more than £700,000 by Coperforma.

It has launched a 30 day consultation with its 74 permanent and 10 casual staff and warned it will be forced to stop working with Coperforma unless a solution is found.

If this happens, Coperforma will be forced to find another organisation to help provide the service.

The redundancy consultation, which affects staff based at Thames' centre in Sheffield Park, will run until December 7.

Unions said staff were shocked but not surprised.

Gary Palmer from the GMB called for the handover process to South Central, due to be carried out in stages, to be speeded up.

He said: “This cannot continue and it is the front line staff and the patients who are suffering.

"April 1 is too far away to wait. We need the process to be done quickly but at the same time managed properly."

"In a letter to staff Thames said it could no longer afford to continue providing services without being paid for them and it had been covering staff wages since June.

It said: “We now have no option but to begin a redundancy consultation process that will likely result in all our Sussex-based staff having to be made compulsorily redundant."

Company owner Andrew Tuke said: “If we get paid then we will continue as we are, but if we don’t then we will have no option.

Thames said it was also planning to start legal proceedings against Coperforma.

Mrs Carberry said the CCG was mediating between Thames and Coperforma to try to solve the dispute.

When asked if she regretted giving the contract to Coperforma, Mrs Carberry said she was very sorry for the experience that patients had had and what staff had gone through.

A spokesman for Coperforma said: "I can categorically state that our payments to our contractors are up to date for service received to support the Sussex patient transport service

"I can also confirm that we are in different stages of negotiations with a small number of providers over invoice queries which we are trying to resolve as speedily as possible."

CRUCIAL QUESTIONS TO CHIEF OFFICER WENDY CARBERRY

What is your Clinical Commissioning Group doing to settle this latest dispute between Thames and Coperforma?

We were informed by Thames just over a week ago that they had concerns with Coperforma. Last Monday we met with them and agreed to speak to Coperforma and arrange mediation to try to resolve the issues.

It is our understanding that the money owed is due to penalties within the contract.

Mediation plans have been put in place and were due to start this week so it is disappointing Thames have moved on to the next step to consult with staff on. The mediation process will continue.”

Will you provide any financial support in this case?

There is no money owed to staff. This is an issue between two organisations contracted with each other and they need to settle this dispute.

Will you speed up process of handing over the contract to South Central Ambulance?

The handover is being carefully phased over a period of time and we’re having our first big project meeting with South Central to begin this soon.

We will be doing this in a phased way and as we go along the service will become more stable.

What will you learn from how the procurement process was handled?

There has already been an independent investigation into what happened but what we will be doing is to review the entirety of what happened over the period involving all key stakeholders and see what lessons can be learnt. We will be in a position to say what we can learn from this following the review.

Do you regret offering the contract to Coperforma?

I am very sorry for the experience that patients have had and what staff have gone through.

In the light of everything that has happened, how do you see your future?

I have worked in the NHS for nearly 40 years and I continue to keep working for the NHS. I have no plans to step down.

What message will you give to the patients and staff affected by the whole process?

We have said we are sorry for what happened but services have improved now and are now operating at the same level as they were previously. We are also sorry for the situation for staff.