The Isle of Wight Ambulance Service’s Patient Transport Service team has welcomed 3 new Volunteer Ambulance Car Service drivers (VACS).
Jean-Francois, Paul and Tim will support the PTS Team to transport eligible patients to non-urgent local and mainland outpatient appointments 7 days a week.
Louise Walker, Ambulance Education, Training and Engagement Lead, said:
“The impact and value volunteering brings to patients and staff must not be underestimated; the contribution volunteers can make to overall efforts can hugely reduce pressures across services.
“We are so grateful for all our volunteers who give up their own precious time to assist our Island community.”
The newly enrolled drivers have successfully completed specific training to ensure they have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide this support safely and effectively. They will be using Isle of Wight NHS Trust PTS Ambulance Service vehicles, including our hybrid models – an important step towards becoming a carbon neutral service.
This year alone the Patient Transport Service has facilitated over 14,000 patient journeys.
Mark Stevens, PTS Service Delivery Officer, has said:
“We are confident that this support from Jean-Francois, Paul and Tim will help us to continue to provide the outstanding level of care and support that our patients are used to.
“When we are able to get this help from volunteers to transport patients who have an underlying medical need, such as shielding, it means that we are able to free up our resources to focus on supporting patients who have more complex needs.”
Nice idea except, the hospital is in chaos, who is going to be able to go to the hospital will cancellations and the highest rate of scarlet fever in the country. The managers need a kick up the arse instead of hiding away and mis-managing everything. If you don’t care about your staff, your staff won’t care about you. LISTEN.