From today, the booking process for non-emergency PTS, provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS), is changing. This is to ensure their services are used appropriately and are available for patients with a genuine need for transport.

NHS England has led this work by setting out a revised national framework to ensure that PTS is consistently more responsive, fair and sustainable across the country.

The new framework includes the overarching principle that most people should travel to and from hospital independently.

Important dates

From 1 April 2025 YAS phased in the updated national eligibility criteria on behalf of the three ICBs in Yorkshire and Humber. This will be applied in West Yorkshire from today, Monday, 28th April 2025.

How this impacts planned care appointments and discharges

Delivering a timely PTS enables colleagues to provide timely patient appointments and discharges.

Inefficient over-use of PTS will significantly impact clinicians and healthcare representatives, as it leads to wasted clinical time by disrupting carefully planned schedules, and additional admin to reschedule patients’ missed appointments.

YAS have limited resources and conveying patients who are not eligible makes them late for appointments and can result in cancelled appointments. Therefore, it is important that we provide accurate information about our patients.

Recently, YAS have seen healthcare staff upgrading a patient’s mobility requirements in an attempt to secure a transport booking. This practice will result in a worse overall service for the majority of patients who really need these services and will impact on appointment times or discharges, as well as cancellations and re-bookings.

YAS reserves the right to check, amend and refuse transport bookings where patient information is misrepresented or falsified.

How you can help

Please note, having a medical appointment or a diagnosed clinical condition does not in its own right make a patient eligible for PTS. They must also be unable to travel to a healthcare setting by any other means.

Before contacting YAS, please consider all other transport options for your patient. This includes asking the patient why they are unable to make their own way home using their own transport, family members, public transport or private taxi, including wheelchair taxi services.

These changes mean that some patients who have previously used non-emergency PTS will be directed to use alternative transport.

There will also be patients who only qualify for one-way transport, so please do not assume that because a patient used PTS to get to their hospital appointment that they will automatically be eligible for PTS for their return journey home, and vice versa.

Booking information

Please have the following information available when making a non-emergency transport booking:

• The patient’s NHS number.

• Details about the patient’s mobility and any other needs affecting how they travel.

• Any equipment required such as oxygen, wheelchair or walking frame.

• Why the patient is unable to make their own way home using their own transport, family members, public transport or private taxis, including private wheelchair taxi services.

Alternative transport options

When a patient is not eligible for non-emergency PTS, you can direct them to these alternatives:

• Family members and friends

• Public transport

• Private taxi services, including wheelchair taxis

Patients who cannot afford to travel independently may qualify for the Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme, which will refund their travel costs. More information about this scheme can be found here: Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme.