Latest News

North and North East Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Groups are pleased to announce that following a competitive procurement exercise, they have awarded the contract to deliver non-emergency Patient Transport Services across the two areas.

The contract has been awarded to Thames Ambulance Service whose parent company The Thames Group operates across a number of health economies in England. Thames Ambulance Service has a local base in Doncaster in South Yorkshire but will be opening a new base in the North and North East Lincolnshire locality shortly, once a suitable site has been identified.

The CCGs wanted to ensure Patient Transport Services (PTS) continue to meet what is a growing local need well into the future. This meant drawing up a new specification for the service that was informed by what local patients and their carers told us about their needs, with more than 500 people taking part in person and more than 170 people completing a survey about their experiences.

Thames Group has considerable experience of working with healthcare partners and is committed to improving services in partnership with all stakeholders including service users and their families. Their vision is to move patient transport away from being just a logistics service to being an integrated part of the patient pathway.

Thames Group operational team has over 50 years’ senior experience within the NHS and they will ensure the service locally is focused on the patient and their needs. They have specific local knowledge and experience of the healthcare community within Lincolnshire.

The change in service provider does not come into effect until the 1st October 2016, and during that time the CCGs will work with the current provider East Midlands Ambulance Service to ensure a smooth transition for patients and staff. The CCGs will hold local engagement sessions for patients so they can be assured about the future of the service.

Thames Group will engage and consult with the outgoing organisation with collective and individual consultations taking place with affected staff. This will give them a strong understanding of staff members’ skills, education and knowledge.

North and North East Lincolnshire CCGs welcome the opportunity to work with Thames Ambulance Service to develop a service which is responsive to the needs of patients and healthcare organisations.

Margaret Serna, Chief Executive of Thames Group, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by the NHS to deliver high quality Patient Transport Services to the people of North and North East Lincolnshire. Our focus is now on making the transition process as smooth as possible for staff and patients, and we are looking forward to meeting both groups as soon as possible to discuss any concerns they may have as well as outlining our exciting plans for the future of this vital local service.”