Provision of Ad Hoc Ambulance Services for Patient Transportation

This service is commissioned by North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. The purpose of the PTS service is to ensure that there is an equitable and accessible service to all eligible patients based on their medical need.

There are in place multiple CCG-commissioned contracts covering the bulk of these services, however the Authority has a requirement for a number of private ambulance resources and additional Journeys to be undertaken to support these commissioned contracts, at any time of day or night, 24/7. The aim of the service is to provide transport for patients as identified by the Patient Transport Teams of the Authority in reasonable time and comfort without detriment to their medical condition.

The Authority has occasional requirements for various resources to support this aim, including PTS Journeys, paramedic/technician Journeys. The geographical scope of this Contract includes Journeys local to the Authority's clinical sites, but also elsewhere across the United Kingdom and can and be collected and dropped to any site not only those of the host Trust.

The highest proportion of Journeys will be for patients who reside in BANES, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire (BGSW) and Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG). Actual historical Journeys data can be found in Appendix 4.

All required service standards are detailed in this specification. Please note that the each of the Authorities may operate up to 4 of their own in-house ambulance vehicles, which may be used to carry out some part of the activity otherwise covered by this specification.

The initial Contract term shall expire five (5) years from the Services Commencement Date. The Term may be extended provided that the duration of this Contract shall be no longer than seven (7) years in total.

The primary customer(s) of this contract is University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and North Bristol NHS Trust" (currently committed partners). However, this contract may also be used by other NHS organisations in the Bristol area within the remit of the Bristol and Weston NHS Purchasing Consortium (a list of which can be found at www.bwpc.nhs.uk).

Specifically, Weston Area Health NHS Trust, as a local NHS Trust and a partner of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust may contract with the selected supplier for the future purchase of the services. Also, the contract is also open to our Partners in Procurement details of which can be found at www.bathnes.gov.uk