Patient transport

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.

[2] Since the establishment of the NHS internal market in 1990, these services have often been contracted to private providers.

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 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.

[3] After a string of market failures, NHS England announced a review into the cost of patient transport services and the way they are commissioned in October 2019.

[4] The Care Quality Commission issued a warning to NHS trusts in August 2022 about risks to mental health patients being transported by non-emergency providers after inspections raised issues about the use of restraints, sexual safety, physical health needs, vehicle and equipment safety standards, and unsafe recruitment practices.