Job losses at patient transport service sub-contractor planned

Patient transport service vehicles used by SECAmb before the contract was taken over by Coperforma

Job losses at a sub-contractor working on Sussex's patient transport service have been announced.

Since private company Coperforma took over the contract from South East Coast Ambulance Service in April, patients have complained about numerous incidents of crews being late or not turning up at all.

While performance has improved recently, one of the company’s sub-contractors VM Langfords went into administration earlier this year, forcing Coperforma to step in to guarantee jobs, pay, and conditions.

Now Docklands Medical Services (DMS), which took on some of the former Langfords employees, said it would be informing some of its staff that the company will be ‘terminating their employment’.

In a letter to staff, Christopher Arnall, chief executive officer at DMS, said: “I have no choice as my company finances dictate that I act quickly and decisively in order to secure the stability of the company and maintain a solvent and stable company going forward in order to provide our valuable service to the patients and maintain stable secure jobs for employees who remain with the business.”

He added: “When former Langford’s employees joined DMS I gave an undertaking to these employees that all such staff would remain on ‘the same terms and conditions that they were previously on’.

“At this time I was hoping to attract additional business/work into DMS in order to be able to finance this undertaking. Again sadly this has not happened.