Patient transport is a service that transfers patients to and from medical facilities in non-emergency situations.
In emergency situations, patients are transported by the
emergency medical services
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
. Non-emergency patient transport is sometimes run by the same agency. It is typically provided to a patient who needs to be transferred to a facility that can provide a higher or more specialised level of care though emergency services may be summoned if this is urgent. It may also be used to transfer patients from a specialised facility to a local hospital or nursing home when they no longer require this specialised care, such as following successful
cardiac catheterisation
Cardiac catheterization (heart cath) is the insertion of a catheter into a chamber or vessel of the heart. This is done both for diagnostic and interventional purposes.
A common example of cardiac catheterization is coronary catheterization that ...
due to a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. Some countries also offer the service to patients who cannot make their own way to or from the hospital.
United States
Patient transport services are provided in the United States to convey patients to hospitals. The vehicles used are not usually (although there are exceptions) equipped with life-support equipment, and are usually crewed by staff with fewer qualifications than the crew of emergency ambulances. Their purpose is simply to transport patients to, from or between places of treatment. These services are often provided by
ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
services using non-emergency vehicles, but may be subject to tendering processes.
United Kingdom
Patient transport services in the United Kingdom were generally provided by ambulance services after the establishment of the NHS, and originally all emergency ambulance crews began as patient transport drivers.
Since the establishment of the
NHS internal market
The NHS internal market was established by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, to separate the roles of purchasers and providers within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. Previously, healthcare was provided by ...
in 1990, these services have often been contracted to private providers.
Patient transport service is a separate provision from the
Hospital Travel Costs scheme, which is means tested, to fund low income patients' journeys to hospital.
Clinical commissioning group
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were NHS organisations set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to organise the delivery of NHS services in each of their local areas in England. On 1 July 2022 they were abolished and replaced by Integra ...
s (CCG) often arranged for one CCG to manage the tendering and contracting process for a wide area.
Cornwall CCG proposed to restrict this provision for
dialysis patients for those who did not have specific medical or financial reasons in 2018, but changed their minds after a campaign led by
Kidney Care UK
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
and decided to fund transport for patients requiring dialysis three times a week for a minimum of six weeks, or six times a month for a minimum of three months.
After a string of market failures,
NHS England
NHS England, officially the NHS Commissioning Board, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the ...
announced a review into the cost of patient transport services and the way they are commissioned in October 2019.
The
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England.
I ...
issued a warning to NHS trusts in August 2022 about risks to mental health patients being transported by non-emergency providers after inspections had raised issues about the use of restraints, sexual safety, physical health needs, vehicle and equipment safety standards, and unsafe recruitment practices.
See also
*
Casualty movement
Casualty movement is the collective term for the techniques used to move a casualty from the initial location (street, home, workplace, wilderness, battlefield) to the ambulance.
In wilderness or combat conditions, it may first be necessary to st ...
*
Ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
References
{{reflist
Health care
National Health Service