Archived decisions

Contact: Kevin Ings, tel 01962 846986 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 A proposal for a new transport service between the Andover and Winchester Hospitals has been identified through work which has been carried out as part of one of the County Council's LAA accessibility pilots. The scheme will improve access to Winchester and Andover hospitals for hospital appointments and visiting for people who are resident in the northern part of Test Valley. This is particularly significant following the relocation of some health care services from Andover to Winchester. It will be introduced in collaboration with a number of partners with most of the direct funding required for this service coming from these parties.

1.2 The report also seeks authority to begin negotiations with the Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service which provides direct support to the majority of voluntary car schemes in Hampshire regarding the possible award of a two year single tender contract. The contract would provide financial support to cover the costs of work undertaken by the Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service, in partnership with the County Council, to support and develop the work of voluntary car schemes in Hampshire. It would also increase the opportunity for the organisation to be involved in developing a number of new initiatives.

1.3 A report to the Executive Member for Environment on 9 October 2007 outlined the changes which needed to be made to the financial arrangements for supporting community transport schemes in the future in order to ensure that the County Council meets procurement regulations and the Council's latest Standing Orders. These changes are currently being implemented and this report identifies where further decisions are required to assist this process.

1.4 The report proposes arrangements for future vehicle ownership, replacement and maintenance. It also sets out the maximum value or number of lots to be awarded to any one tenderer under the framework contract and considers the arrangement for tendering a community transport scheme in Basingstoke. All of these decisions will contribute towards maximising well-being in Hampshire.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That the two year pilot hospital shuttle bus scheme and the County Council's support for this service, as outlined in paragraphs 3.4-3.6 of the report, be agreed subject to the necessary funding being provided by other partners; and a satisfactory review of the service taking place after the first six months of operation.

2.2 That single tender negotiations take place with the Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service, and that if successful a two year contract be awarded.

2.3 That the approach to vehicle ownership, as set out in the report, be agreed in principle and that the Director of the Environment be given delegated authority to refine the detail before tenders are issued.

2.4 That a reserve account be established, as set out in the report, to hold contributions to vehicle replacement costs and be used to fund the future replacement of Dial-a-Ride and Call and Go minibuses and Wheels to Work mopeds.

2.5 That the arrangements to ensure that vehicles are properly maintained, as set out in the report, be agreed.

2.6 That the approach to setting limits on the number of lots and value of contracts that can be won through the framework tendering process by one bidder, as set out in the report be agreed, in principle, and that the Director of Environment be given delegated authority to finalise the details before tenders are issued.

2.7 That decisions being sought in 1.1 (iii)-(vi) be agreed with respective district councils where schemes are jointly funded and, where appropriate, with the operators where variations may need to be made to the existing agreements.

2.8 That the overall approach to tendering a community transport scheme in Basingstoke as set out in the report, be agreed in principle and that, following the advice from the transport consultant, the Director of Environment be given delegated authority to finalise the details before tenders are issued.

3. Transport Service to Andover and Winchester Hospital

3.1 Hampshire County Council's Local Transport Plan identified accessibility to services as a core priority. In order to assess the level of accessibility in the county, a number of accessibility studies were launched. The Andover to Winchester Hospital Accessibility Pilot has been investigating the difficulties that many patients, visitors and staff experience in getting to either Andover or Winchester hospitals from many of the villages of Test Valley. This area was specifically chosen as one of the pilots following consultation by the Mid Hampshire Health Partnership on proposals that procedures requiring a general anaesthetic, such as general surgery and gynaecology, should be transferred from Andover to a new purpose built treatment centre at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester. A substantial number of respondents to this consultation expressed concerns about the travel difficulties between Andover and Winchester.

3.2 The pilot working group comprised representatives of the County Council, Test Valley Borough Council, the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester and voluntary and community groups from the Andover area. The work undertaken by the group has included:

(i) a questionnaire survey of patients from the Northern Test Valley area who had attended the hospital;

(ii) an accession audit of public transport accessibility to the hospitals; and

(iii) an audit of passenger transport services between northern Test Valley and Winchester hospital.

The work concluded that existing public transport services do not always provide a very good service between the Andover and Winchester hospitals. The Accession audit showed that more than 50% of bus journeys took longer than one hour and involved at least one change. Patients who did use buses reported difficulties on 64% of their journeys - far higher than any other mode. As a result relatively few patients arrived by scheduled bus with this form of transport accounting for just 3% of all journeys from Andover to Winchester hospital. In addition to this, and despite the anecdotal evidence available, the actual level of unmet transport need remains unclear.

3.3 The draft action plan produced by the working group suggested that access could be improved by investigating the feasibility of providing better transport links and information although the delivery of any initiatives would need to take account of the fact that passenger numbers are likely to be low and from a widely dispersed area. The health trust are particularly keen to see the introduction of a shuttle bus between Winchester and Andover in order to address the accessibility issues following consultation on the concentration of future health services at Winchester hospital. The health trust have offered funding for a two year period to help finance this if support is forthcoming from other partners.

3.4 A proposal has therefore been developed for a five day a week shuttle bus service from Andover to Winchester Hospital, travelling via Stockbridge. It is envisaged that the service would:

(i) provide four return trip opportunities a day on Mondays to Fridays;

(ii) be available primarily for attending hospital appointments but also for hospital visiting;

(iii) be available to people who are unable to make the journey in any other way; and

(iv) be provided using a smaller wheelchair accessible minibus and therefore people would need to pre-book to use the service.

A tendering process, involving commercial and voluntary transport operators, is currently underway to determine the annual operating cost of this service and it will investigate a number of options including the bookings either being taken by the successful operator or a third party. In addition there would be some promotional and infrastructure costs at both of the hospital sites.

3.5 The Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare Trust has already confirmed that they would be willing to contribute a significant proportion of these costs for a two year period and discussions are currently underway with Test Valley Borough Council to fund the remaining amount. In addition to this the County Council would make available one of the Hart Call and Go vehicles for this service which will become surplus to requirements once the proposed changes to that service are introduced. The County Council could also offer the use of its Travel Centre for the bookings if this option appears to be more favourable than other options provided through the tendering process. It is envisaged that the contract for this service will be held by the Health Trust and the service promoted as a health-lead initiative supported by other partners. For its part the County Council has been asked to undertake the tendering process and to assist in the promotion and monitoring of the service. A modest financial contribution may also be required if Test Valley Borough Council is unable to meet the full remaining amount.

3.6 Access to Andover and Winchester hospitals has been raised as a key issue and whilst concerns may have been voiced about transport difficulties this proposed service will clearly demonstrate the extent of unmet needs and help assess the longer term viability of any service linking the two hospitals. With the funding pledged from other partners any financial commitment from the County Council would be small and given the current pressures regarding supporting local bus services this seems appropriate. The proposed shuttle bus service will also complement the County Council's own plans for a rural pilot scheme in Test Valley which could feed people into this shuttle service. It is proposed that the two year pilot scheme and the County Council's support for this service, as outlined above, be agreed subject to the necessary funding being provided by other partners and a successful review of the service being completed after the first six months of operation.

4. Support to Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service

4.1 The Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service is an umbrella organisation for voluntary care or good neighbour schemes in Hampshire of which there are well over 100 such groups. The Advisory Service provides advice and support to existing voluntary care groups, and where the opportunity exists, develops new groups. A significant activity of the majority of voluntary care groups is providing transport using volunteer car drivers and in view of this the County Council's Community Transport Team works very closely in partnership with the Advisory Service in supporting this part of the voluntary and community transport sector in Hampshire.

4.2 The service is largely funded through an existing service agreement with the County Council's Adult Services Department and the Hampshire Primary Care Trust which provide the majority of its operating costs. The Environment Department already provides funding to cover the shortfall in operating costs which individual voluntary care groups incur.

4.3 In view of the close working relationship with the Advisory Service, and the significant amount of transport provided by voluntary care groups in Hampshire, this report seeks authority to begin negotiations with the organisation regarding the possible award of a two year single tender contract. In return for this financial support the Advisory Service would agree to work with and support the County Council in a number of areas. These could include working jointly with the County Council to:

(i) promote good practice in the transport services operated by voluntary care groups;

(ii) update the contact information for voluntary care groups providing transport which the Council holds.

(iii) collate information on the transport services provided by voluntary care groups for inclusion in the local Getting About Guides and other appropriate passenger transport publications produced by the County Council and on the council's Passenger Transport Group website;

(iv) collect annual statistics on the journeys provided by voluntary care groups for the Council;

(v) organise conferences and training events for voluntary car schemes; ensure the views of voluntary care groups are represented at the various transport forums which the Community Transport Team arrange; and

(vi) investigate the need for and develop new voluntary care groups where existing gaps in provision are identified through area reviews, etc.

(vii) assist in developing new transport initiatives which will either impact on voluntary care groups or which groups have a key role to play in.

4.4 Approval is therefore sought to enter into single tender negotiations with the Hampshire Voluntary Care Group Advisory Service and, subject to satisfactory negotiations, to award a two year contract.

5. Community Transport Contracts

5.1 A report to the Executive Member for Environment on 9 October 2007 outlined the changes which needed to be made to the financial basis of support for community transport schemes in the future, in order to ensure that the County Council meets procurement regulations and the Council's latest Standing Orders. These changes are now being implemented and this report identifies the following areas where further decisions are required to assist this process.

5.2 There is a need to decide various matters connected with the vehicles currently used to provide the Dial-a-Ride and Call & Go services, those used by the community transport schemes and the mopeds used by the Wheels to Work moped schemes. In summary, the arrangements proposed for the new contracts will ensure that the ownership of the vehicles is clarified, that a reserve account is established to hold funds for vehicle replacement and that arrangements are put in place to ensure that vehicles are properly maintained. These arrangements will need to be agreed with the respective district councils where schemes are jointly funded and will be subject to detailed legal advice, where required.

5.3 The Dial-a-Ride, Call and Go and Basingstoke Community Transport services will all form part of a `framework tender'. Whilst this approach requires a competitive tendering process to be undertaken it does have the advantage of enabling protection to be incorporated for small enterprises and thus allow some safeguards to be built in to stop one bidder winning most or all of the contracts in Hampshire.

5.4 A decision therefore needs to be taken on where to set the upper limit in terms of what any one tenderer will be awarded. The County Council will seek the agreement of the respective district councils which jointly fund these organisations.

6. Impact Assessments

6.1 Many of the services operated by these schemes and services will be available to all bona fide voluntary and community groups in their area of operation. Where services are available to individuals they are often targeted at members of the community who are disadvantaged in some way.

7. Conclusion

7.1 The report seeks approval for a two year hospital shuttle scheme between Andover and Winchester hospitals in order to improve access to these facilities. A two year single tender contract is also proposed for the Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service. It also identifies where further decisions are required to assist the process of moving from service agreements to contracts under the new financial arrangements for supporting community transport schemes.

1603Rpt/KI