Five crews from EMAS’ Patient Transport Services (PTS) have been praised by a Nottinghamshire hospital for stepping in at short notice on a Sunday night to help reduce pressure on services during their black alert.
The fourteen members of PTS staff sacrificed their Sunday evening off to attend King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield and transport patients from the hospital to their homes or wards at Newark Hospital.
Sherwood Hospitals NHS Trust issued a ‘black alert’ on Sunday, February 5, due to pressures across the hospital and high attendances in A&E. When this happens, a number of actions are triggered within the trust to ensure it increases patient flow throughout the whole hospital before the situation becomes even more challenging.
Roz Howie , Chief Operating Officer at Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust, said: “On behalf of the Trust I would like to thank East Midlands Ambulance Service for their assistance on Sunday. It was a particularly busy weekend for us and the help of their staff to transfer patients was gratefully received.
“We are all feeling the pressure during the winter months, but working together as a whole team makes a real difference to both the trust and our patients. The professionalism and caring attitudes of their staff was exemplary. Thank you to everyone involved.”
EMAS’ Patient Transport Services, which normally provides non-emergency transport for patients in Derbyshire to and from their healthcare appointments, received a request for help from the hospital at 6pm last night.
Rachel Poulton-Hartley, PTS patient flow co-ordinator at EMAS said that she was very proud of her colleagues for coming in to help on their evening off.
She said: “I’m really proud that we managed to get five double crews together and help them with discharges from A&E or taking patients to Newark.
“I received a call at 6pm to say they were having trouble getting crews in so I rang my colleagues and they were willing to help.
“Patients are always our priority and by helping transport patients to another hospital or to their home with their family, we are also helping patients who are arriving at A&E to get the best care.”
The other staff who helped transfer patients were Julia Hall, Scott Hill, Karen Skeldon, Jo Blevins, James Oldham, Gareth Orton, David Walker, Charles Crump, Sammi Moore, Simon Richardson, Stuart Roberts, Dave Thomas and Terry Dove.
Sherwood Forest Hospitals have reported seeing an average of 35 extra people attending A&E a day and an additional 10 to 20 ambulances a day.