EMA Secure Transport Report
We have recently produced our Secure Transport Report 2021 to contribute to the discussion around mental health and to highlight the vital role that services including secure transport play in supporting patients.
Our detailed report collates a wide range of information from our experiences, NHS surveys and discussions with healthcare professionals, and takes a detailed look at topics including the type of transporting options available to patients with mental health conditions, best practices and next steps.
This report has come at a critical time, where there is a discussion around the pandemic and the short and long term effects that it will continue to have on the country’s mental health.
With concern from many healthcare professionals, having discussions around best practice and the sharing of information is vital to ensure we are prepared to cope with the effects of the pandemic and also ensure we will be able to continue effectively supporting patients with a variety of needs.
Below we take a brief look over some of the topics discussed in our report.
Transport Options
There are a variety of options for transporting patients with mental health conditions. One thing that is essential is that the patient should always be transported in the manner which is most likely to preserve their dignity and privacy.
However, mental health transport falls into the category of non-emergency, which can make arranging timely transport via emergency ambulance difficult.
This is why having experienced secure transport service providers on hand is vital to ensure organisations and patients can be effectively supported moving forward.
Best Practice
Secure transport should provide a high quality service that affords dignity to the patient and manages the risks to patients and professionals alike.
But this can only be achieved when providers are taking a level of due diligence and following all relevant guidance, training and best practices.
In our report it was found that those healthcare professionals questioned believe that having highly trained staff is the most important factor of secure transport.
This is something we take very seriously at EMA Patient Transport and we are proud to have such an experienced and knowledgeable team of staff supporting our patients.
Next Steps
With the future still so uncertain and the full effects of the pandemic yet to be experienced, what we can do is be as best prepared as possible.
This should involve organisations considering how they currently commission mental health transport, identifying how they ensure their providers are following best practice and also look to ensure they are only working with CQC registered providers.
If you would like to read more about these topics, you can download our report here.
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