What effects do long waiting times and delayed patient transport have on patients?
Following the publication of the ‘Improving non-emergency patient transport services’ report by the NHS, we were shocked by some of the findings, in particular that ‘nearly a third of patients had waited over 3 hours for transport’.
It was also estimated that around a quarter of patient transport journeys are cancelled or aborted each year, which calculates to around 3 million trips.
This is of course an issue but unfortunately, transport delays, lengthy waiting times for collection, or even cancellations are becoming common experiences for many patients.
Not only do delays in patient transport create disruption and add unnecessary costs, but as stated within the report, delays can also ‘undermine both patients’ continued recovery and wellbeing during discharge, and hold back the use of beds for others who need them, causing wider challenges for hospitals.’
What are the benefits of choosing EMA patient Transport?
Our team works hard to deliver a prompt service to every organisation and individual we work alongside across all of our patient transport services.
One of the many benefits of our newly launched Private Ambulance service in particular is the guarantee that when you book a date and time for collection, we will be there no matter what.
Unfortunately across the healthcare sector, there are too many cases where patients are being ‘left uncertain as to when their transport will arrive, creating needless waiting and anxiety’ and there are also ‘too many instances where patients do not receive a sufficiently timely and high-quality journey’.
This is why working alongside a reliable and trusted patient transport provider is critical in ensuring that patients receive the best possible experience, supported by a team that helps them to feel relaxed and respected.
We are proud to offer this reliability and high-quality journeys for all patients, no matter their unique requirements.
The findings discussed in the report are also an indication that communication and integration between healthcare providers, transport providers and patients ‘could be much better’.
Quality communication is something we continually strive to achieve and maintain with everyone we work with, and our friendly team works to keep both patients, their family members and organisations informed at all stages throughout their time with us.
If you would like to discuss the ways in which we can support your organisation in overcoming the issue of patient transport waiting times, we would be happy to talk to you.
Or, if yourself or a relative has experienced issues with patient transport delays in the past and you are looking for a provider who offers a quality service, you can find out more about how to book our private patient transport services by contacting us today.
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