Leading corporate services provider NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), has announced the launch of its latest framework agreement, ‘Transportation and Travel Services for Health’, designed to support Ambulance organisations, NHS hospitals, health centres, nursing homes, and hospices, in delivering reliable non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS), improving patient experience and supporting continuity of care.
Each year, NEPTS facilitate over eleven million patient journeys for individuals who, due to medical conditions or mobility issues, are unable to use public or private transport.
Comprising four distinct service areas (Lots) the framework agreement enables procurement teams to quickly source and purchase services from pre-approved, quality-assured, and fully compliant providers of specialist patient transport.
Eight million missed appointments, and 50 per cent of DNAs linked to transport
In 2024, over 8 million NHS appointments were missed, costing the health service an estimated £1.2bn, with research indicating up to 50 per cent of Did Not Attend (DNA) cases are linked to transport-related challenges.
With a healthcare system under substantial strain (elective waiting lists, A&E attendance and Ambulance response times still reflect critical operational challenges), NEPTS are essential to ensuring patients can access vital care from routine check-ups to elective procedures and ongoing treatments, safely and on time.
“With hospitals under increasing pressure to free up beds, minimise discharge delays and optimise patient flow, NEPTS play a crucial role in relieving capacity pressures,” says Ebony Armitage, Principal Category Manager – Construction and Estates, NHS SBS.
“By ensuring timely transfers and supporting hospital discharges, NEPTS help reduce bottlenecks across the system, keeping care moving and allowing healthcare organisations to operate more efficiently.”
The services on offer via the framework agreement encompass a range of complex transport needs including neonatal, paediatric, bariatric, palliative and end-of-life care, secure mental health and high dependency transfers, among others.
Over 70 per cent of suppliers awarded to this NHS SBS framework agreement are small to medium sizes firms and being regionalised, allows users to contract with their preferred local provider directly. That in turn not only supports reduction of the carbon footprint but can lower prices, given less mileage to cover on journeys.
The framework agreement’s Marketplace option (Lot 4), where customers can access a pool of providers through an awarded suppliers’ supply chain, is useful for organisations that may have a preferred supplier not awarded to the framework.
Armitage concludes:
“Access to timely, reliable transport is essential for safe, effective care. Our framework agreement gives healthcare organisations the flexibility to commission specialist transport quickly, enhancing patient safety, reducing delays, and supporting better use of NHS resources.
“By prioritising regional suppliers, reducing carbon footprints – aligning with NHS England’s net zero travel roadmap, including zero-emission vehicles, and rigorous supplier assurance, we’re not just moving patients, we’re moving towards a greener, safer, and more responsive NHS.
For more information, contact the NHS SBS team at: sbs.hello@nhs.net
