Big Health Day

Health and Transport:

Initiatives in Greater

Manchester

Facilitating this morning’s session• David Campbell – GMCVO’s Transport Resource Unit• Steve Travis – Transport for Communities

and also with us today

• Hadrian Collier – Programme Manager

NHS Commissioning Business Service

Our Background• David & Steve work with GM Community Transport Forum

• Umbrella body for the ‘CT’ sector in GM

• Building a professional, accountable, vibrant CT sector

• CTs offer local transport, not for profit, for social needs

• Hadrian Collier - NHS Commissioning Business Service

• Change / Initiative delivery

• Trial and roll-out of new Patient Transport Service (PTS) eligibility criteria

Health & Transport in GM• Growing demand and expectation for transport to and from

where health services are delivered

• Related to increasing pressures on NHS

• Pressure of deficit reduction measures / cuts

• Changes to how services are delivered leading to changing travel requirements and patterns:

– Consolidation of a range of services e.g. LIFT centres

– Centralisation of services e.g maternity, paediatric services

– Personalisation

– Future – White Paper / GP-led commissioning

Health and Transport in GM• Transport (or its absence) can be a barrier to accessing

health services for some residents & communities

• Negative implications for patients and service providers, disproportionately affecting deprived & vulnerable groups

• We have an understanding of this from the experience of

– PCTs & Patient Transport Service

– Transport Authorities

– POPPs projects

– Voluntary sector and community organisations

• Specifics of scale of problem and how it affects specific groups unclear though.

Health and Transport in GM• Demand for PTS and inconsistent application of rules

• Led to incidents where patients whose condition meant PTS vehicle and support from staff was essential

– Could not access the service.

• PTS focus on prioritising and making sure those patients get the support they need.

• Other patients will be guided to alternatives e.g. friends / family cars, taxi, public transport – Community Transport?

• Existing / conventional transport services may be unable or unwilling to respond

Health and Transport in GM• Economic situation and deficit reduction measures placing

unprecedented pressure on support and subsidy for transport

• Especially where it helps provide services for social needs, keeping residents and communities connected to services

• Alternative approaches including ‘Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) applied and explored as options

• Range of partners already working together & collaborating to develop ‘integrated social needs transport’ solutions

Patient Transport Service• New Eligibility Criteria

Discussion• Are these issues familiar to you?

• Are you aware of situations where transport (or its absence) acts as a barrier to services for patients?

• Is this a challenge for your organisation and its services?

• Can you see how the proposals for new models of health service provision might affect patients’ access to services?

• Can you see how the new eligibility criteria for PTS might affect patients access to services?

• Or are these issues not familiar or a priority for you?

• Are your issues around patients access to services different?

New and Alternative Approaches• Community Transport & the GM CT Forum

– Local operators responsive & flexible

– Can offer transport for those who don’t need support of PTS vehicle and staff, but is appropriate for them

– Forum offers structure to facilitate GM-wide working

– ‘Hospital to Home’, Rochdale

– Volunteer Car & Driver Schemes

• Transport for Sick Children (longstanding)

• Rochdale (generated by POPPs)

New and Alternative Approaches• Integrated Social Needs Transport

– Collaborative Model

– Bring together public, voluntary and private sector transport providers

– IT provides single point of contact across GM and structure for ‘Booking, Scheduling & Dispatch’

– Needs of user met using the most appropriate transport provider available at the time

– Passenger is important, not the vehicle or provider

• ‘Community Cabs’

Discussion• Are you familiar with these initiatives?

• Are / could these approaches be of value and benefit to the people you support and your organisation?

• What could be done to promote these schemes?

• Or should other things be done / are there other priorities to support access to services?

• Do you have ideas about how these approaches should be refined or modified to provide most benefits to users?

• Do you have any other ideas of your own?

Summary• Conclusions

• What might happen next? – (does anyone know - !)

• Community Transport in GM– Next steps.

Thank you

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