A FIVE-year contract to provide non-emergency hospital patient transport across the Wellington and West Somerset areas has been awarded to leading UK healthcare and specialist transport firm EMED Group.

It follows a procurement exercise by NHS Somerset, which is responsible for commissioning health and care services for the county’s 580,000 residents.

The new non-emergency, planned journey, patient transport service is tailored to individuals with higher level mobility requirements, who need help with transport to attend hospital appointments.

Eligibility criteria apply, and patients must be registered with a Somerset GP.

It will primarily serve outpatient appointments, admissions, day case attendances, and renal dialysis treatments across various care settings.

EMED expects to carry out more than 21,000 patient journeys annually.

Operating hours will mirror the previous contract from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week, including bank holidays, and the booking process remains unchanged.

Patients or carers can contact the Patient Transport Advice Centre on 01278 727444 between 8.30 am and 6.30 pm. 

EMED chief executive Craig Smith said: “We are thrilled to be supporting NHS Somerset with this new service, where planned and unplanned journeys are separated to create a better patient experience and smoother patient flows through the discharge and care pathways.”

The service is being delivered by EMED from its main bases near Taunton and Shepton Mallet, using 69 crew members and 22 ambulances.