Our Chief Executive, who began his career in the ambulance service in Patient Transport Services 22 years ago, has spent the day back on the road with a crew.
Richard Henderson, Chief Executive of EMAS, started as a Patient Care Assistant with the Patient Transport Service in Scunthorpe, and was keen to see how the service has changed over the years.
Richard joined Garry Hague and Simon Richardson from Ripley Ambulance Station and helped dozens of patients get to their hospital appointments.
John Varty, their first patient of the day, was picked up from his home in Ripley to go to Royal Derby Hospital.
The 97-year-old war-veteran and retired teacher explained that he would struggle to get to his hospital appointments without receiving free transport.
He said: “Once the ambulance crew have got you, you are safe and on your way.
“I couldn’t do without them. When I am required to get to hospital, I couldn’t do it without the ambulances.”
Garry Hague, who has worked as a Patient Care Assistant in PTS for 11 years, said that it was a pleasure to have Richard with them for the day and it was a great opportunity to demonstrate the hard work they do.
He said: “The best bit about the job is meeting the characters we pick up in the ambulance and being able to care for them.
“At the end of the day I feel like I have done a worthwhile job.”
Richard explained that PTS provides members of staff with a good grounding in patient care if they choose to then move into the A&E side of the service as he did.
He said: “It gave me the chance speak to lots of patients and meet colleagues from across the health service, including in hospitals and clinics.
“PTS is such an important service because we want to make sure that we are providing good quality service to patients who may not need emergency care, but need to get to their appointments.
"Today has been really beneficial. All the patients have been lovely and it has been a pleasure seeing colleagues at work in their roles.
"Some of them have also given me some positive and some constructive feedback so we can continue to make improvements to the service.
"Thank you to all the men and women who make up our Patient Transport Service for all their hard work and dedication to patients."
