Almost all NHS organisations spend a huge amount on non-emergency patient transport, including taxis, ambulances, couriers etc. Evidence shows delays in patient discharge cause significant patient flow issues and are costing the NHS money. However, non-emergency patient transport is an area where more can be done to ease pressure on the front line and to help improve patient flow.
Do you know how much your trust spends on taxi bookings each year?
Are you getting value for money?
Do you know if all your transport providers are compliant?
Are they able to provide the right mode of transport for the patient’s needs?
The NHS spends around £1 billion each year on NEPTS (non-emergency patient transport services) in the form of taxi firms and voluntary organisations. A high spend can be attributed to the same taxi company being used for many years, without long term contracts and staff calling the same company each time a taxi is required, with little time to consider the costs or the compliance of the company, or indeed of the driver.
Many NHS Trusts and Private Healthcare organisations are choosing to select a solution such as Allocate Transport Marketplace to help reduce non-emergency patient transport costs, improve compliance and to have a better visibility on spend, as well as value for money.
The Allocate Transport Marketplace solution will ensure your providers are compliant, provide value for money and are available to use when needed, ensuring the patient gets to where they need to be, when they need to be there.
Taxis can play a huge role in reducing the discharge backlog, and using Allocate Transport Marketplace provides organisations access to compliant providers who can assist with the efficient discharge of patients, and therefore improve patient flow.
We have identified three keyways in which Allocate Transport Marketplace could improve patient transport efficiencies within your organisation:
1. Reduced overall transportation costs
Unchecked ad-hoc taxi bookings will add thousands of pounds to your transport budget, as incumbent providers may be charging above market rates. By using our free-to-access platform, Allocate Transport Marketplace, you can help mitigate some of these inflated costs by running smaller, more frequent competitions. This allows an ever-increasing portfolio of pre-accredited, pre-approved providers to bid, using today’s rates, not having to hedge their bets on what long-term costs might be.
2. Value for money
Using a system such as Allocate Transport Marketplace offers access to a variety of suitable companies, which ultimately can help to drive down costs. The platform also supports the organisation by ensuring all providers are fully vetted and compliant. This leads to a massive decrease in admin time for your organisation, again, ultimately driving down costs and creating more value for money. The costs of the system are FREE to ALL healthcare providers.
3. Assured Compliance
Patient safety is at the heart of Allocate Transport Marketplace, which is why we ensure that all providers on the platform go through rigorous compliance checks. With Allocate Transport Marketplace completing these checks, your staff will see reductions in their workload, releasing hidden efficiencies and savings. It will also give you peace of mind that any provider on the platform will provide a safe and reliable service to your patients.
Every provider goes through thorough LPP Transport DPS and Allocate Transport Marketplace checks before they can provide a service.
Other key benefits include:
- Commercials are fixed for the length of the competition, negating the need for the booker to be involved
- Awarded providers deliver 95%+ of all requirements, with any overspill automatically being defaulted to the send ranked provider, meaning there is no need for staff to ring round
- You regain accountability, management and control of the care service you provide
- Reporting is vastly improved, allowing you to interrogate each journey at a granular level, such as who booked it, why and where the costs should be allocated.
