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Ambulance was late with no explanation

Posted By Fellow454

"Ambulance was late with no explanation"

(as a service user),

I often need to use the SW ambulance service to get me to my hospital appointments and am usually pleased with the service.

However, on this occasion I had to wait two hours to be collected after my appointment.

The pick-up and drop off arrangements before the appointment were fine. I was collected at 11: 10 for an 11: 20 appointment. After the appointment the ambulance had been booked for 12: 00 to pick me up and take me back home but it did not arrive until 2: 00 pm.

The receptionist at the clinic kept trying to find out where the ambulance was, no one seemed to know. They could not give a reason why there was a delay.

This has happened to me before. This is not a complaint, just a means of flagging up a problem the service may not be aware of.

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Responses

Response from Sara Coburn, Patient Engagement Manager, Governance, South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust 10 years ago
Sara Coburn
Patient Engagement Manager, Governance,
South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust

Submitted on 05/12/2013 at 14:02
Published on Care Opinion at 14:04

Hi Fellow454

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I am sorry that you had to wait for your transport home.

Our Patient Transport Service is a predominately pre-planned service; we work to a schedule that has been planned out the previous day. We are unable to send a vehicle out as soon as a patient is ready and must abide to the times provided to us by the hospital.

Naturally there are times when our crews are delayed; problems with congestion, departments over running earlier in the day or vehicle breakdowns can all cause delays. However, we will always aim to get you home as soon as possible.

I hope this explanation provides some information on how our Patient Transport Service works. However, if you would like further information as to what happened on this occassion please contact our Patient Experience Team by email, patientexperience@swast.nhs.uk, or phone, 01392 261 585, and a member of the team will be very pleased to help you.

Thank you, again, for taking the time to provide feedback.

Sara

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