Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides emergency, urgent and patient transport services across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, covering a geographical area of 1,512 square miles and a total population of 722,500.
In the year 2004-05 the Trust's Patient Transport Service made 138,000 journeys, equating to over 2,600 per week. This compares with approximately 1,000 emergency and urgent journeys each week. These are non-emergency journeys, and include taking patients to regular outpatients' appointments, taking patients home once they have been discharged from hospital and transferring patients between hospitals. In addition to the 55 operational and 10 control staff and 25 ambulances, the Trust has a group of 66 dedicated volunteers who make up the Ambulance Voluntary Car Service. Of the group, 61 are men and 5 are women.
Planning
The volunteers are managed by the Patient Transport Service Control Supervisor, who himself originally joined the Trust as a voluntary car driver.
As each request for transport is made to the Patient Transport Service Control centre, call handlers check if the journey can be safely made by car. If so, an appropriate driver is selected, according to availability and location, and the details faxed to the driver's home.
Those not suitable for car transport are allocated an appropriate alternative ambulance vehicle and staff for their journey.
Drivers can decline any job they are offered, but in reality, this is a rare event when compared to the many hundreds of miles covered by drivers each week. Many of the journeys involve taking patients to specialist care centres outside the Trust's catchment area, including regular journeys to Cheltenham, London and Sheffield.
Volunteers' perspective
Many volunteers are people who have taken early retirement and have chosen to become involved with the Trust as a way of being active in their local community. The Trust recruits via information in hospitals and other community locations, such as libraries. Word of mouth is a strong recruitment channel and in the future it is hoped that the Trust will receive enquiries through the development of its links with Volunteering England and other community groups.
All potential volunteers undergo checks through the Criminal Record Bureau and have occupational health assessments. They also have driving assessments with the Trust's training department and their driving licences and insurance details are checked. An interview then establishes whether they are the right sort of people to work with patients and their carers. The selection process is very important as the Trust is committed to providing a world-class service and its reputation is built on those associated with it, whether employed or volunteers.
Training is an essential part of the service and is arranged covering the use of any equipment, including child car seats and transfer aids which assist patients who are less mobile to get in and out of the car.
Volunteers claim a standard mileage rate, together with a subsistence rate when they are away from home over 5 hours. Regular meetings and a volunteer newsletter keep the drivers up to date.
Benefits
Patients benefit in many ways from the volunteers' work. Regular patients often build a friendly relationship with the drivers, particularly when they see the same driver each week when attending regular appointments. Many patients report that they prefer the comfort and discretion of a car.
The availability of a volunteer driver may mean that a patient can be discharged from hospital earlier in the day than they would if they had waited for an ambulance. Drivers can also deliver patients' medication to them at home thereby preventing the need for them to wait in hospital and any delay in their discharge.
Drivers often have the opportunity to see patients' homes, and are consequently able to alert professional staff if they believe there is any cause for concern, for example if they see fire hazards or problems with security. This “social carer” role is very informal, but can be of benefit to a patient or their family who may be having difficulties.
The Trust is able to benefit from appropriate targeting of resources. Ambulances and trained crews can be used for those whose need is greatest, with many routine journeys undertaken safely and efficiently by volunteers in cars. Up to 75% of patient transport journeys each day may be undertaken by the volunteers. V olunteer drivers clock up over 1.5 million miles between them in a typical year.
Local hospitals also benefit in a higher level of attendance for routine appointments, reducing the number of costly “no shows” or as they are commonly know DNA's (Did not attends).
For further information, or to become a voluntary car driver visit the Trust website or contact:
www.hwas.nhs.uk
Alan Sprague
Patient Transport Service Control Supervisor
Hereford & Worcester Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
Bransford
Worcester
WR5 5JD
Tel: 01886 834200
Fax: 01886 834231
alan.sprague@hwas-tr.wmids.nhs.uk
