Getting your patient to hospital

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) provides 999 services throughout the South West region. The areas we cover include Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset, Bristol, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.

As part of its remit the Trust facilitates requests from healthcare professionals for both emergency and urgent ambulance transport.

There are a number of ways to transport your patient to hospital and a SWASFT ambulance is not always the appropriate way.

Please familiarise yourself with all the methods of transport available for your patient which are detailed below and select the appropriate one.

SELF - drive self

Patient makes their own way to hospital

LIFT - lift from a friend

Patient makes their own way to hospital.

TAXI - taxi (self paid)

Patient pays for a taxi or uses public transport.

LOCAL NON EMERGENCY PATIENT TRANSPORT SERVICES (PTS)

Same day and planned appointments

When your patient can wait over 4 hours and does not clinically need paramedic level care en-route to hospital. Locally commissioned eligibility criteria applies.

Telephone numbers not for public use.

Contact Information
ICB area	Patient Transport Ambulance Service (PTS) Providers	Local HCP contact numbers
Kernow	Ezec Patient Transport	01872 252211
NEW Devon(exc South Devon)	First Care Patient Transport Ambulance Service	034 5155 1009
South Devon and Torbay	Torbay and South Devon NHS Patient Transport	01803 656789
Dorset	EZEC Patient Transport/p>	0300 777 5555
Somerset	EZEC Patient Transport	01278 727444
Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES)	Arriva Patient Transport FAST Ambulance Transport (unplanned patient transport within 1 hour)	Arriva: 0345 600 6068 FAST Ambulance Transport: 01225 712037
Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG)	EZEC Patient Transport	0300 777 6688
Gloucestershire	Arriva Patient Transport	0300 777 6688
Swindon and Wiltshire	Arriva Patient Transport	0300 369 0097

SWASFT AMBULANCE

Urgent within 1-4 hours

03003 690096* or 03003 690097*

When your patient's clinical condition requires an ambulance for an urgent hospital admission.

*Telephone numbers not for public use.

SWASFT EMERGENCY AMBULANCE

Life-threatening conditions

999

e.g. Cardiac arrest, stroke, severe bleeding, seizure, short of breath

How to request an ambulance

If a SWAST ambulance is the best means of transport for your patient please refer to the full guide.

This guide provides guidance for healthcare professionals and explains when it is appropriate to request ambulance transport, and what information will need to be captured when making a request.

Please note that when calling an urgent ambulance, it is important that you call the appropriate telephone number that manages ambulance requests for your area/region.

Getting your patient to hospital

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