Non Emergency Patient Transport Planner/Dispatcher. Full Time

North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) are working towards merging as one organisation from July 2026.

This will create an exciting future that brings together the best of both organisations. As a single, strong and sustainable organisation, we will not only be able to deliver better outcomes for our patients and fairer care for our population, but it will also provide greater opportunities for our people.

Should you join NBT as an employee prior to our organisations merging, your employment will be automatically transferred across to UHBW. Should your employment begin after our two Trusts merge, you will be employed directly by UHBW and therefore UHBW terms and conditions of service will apply

Our job adverts may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received. Considering this, if you are interested in this role, please do apply as soon as you can.

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Job Overview

We are seeking a highly organised and detail-oriented Patient Transport Scheduler

To Work As Part Of The Patient Transport Team Responsible For Providing a Comprehensive Patient Transport Service In The Hospital Environment. This Will Involve Carrying Out The Following Facilities Management Functions:

• Dealing with all transport matters (patient and non-patient) on behalf of the Trust
• Managing and co ordinating all requests for patient transport from Trust departments and managing in –house resources and/or providers of transport services to carry out these requests
• Non Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS)discharge/transfer ambulances
• Planning next day bookings and allocating to Non Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) Ambulances
• Responsible for resolving customer disputes and resource conflicts quickly
• Deciding on the most cost-effective method of executing transport requests whilst maintaining service levels and patient comfort and safety

Main duties of the job

• To respond to call from Trust departments requesting transport for movement of patients and packages
• Co-ordinate activities with third party transport providers
• To adjust transport plans constantly to balance the needs of patient care/ resources available
• To assist clinical staff when planning discharge to ensure patients’ needs are met and that transport plans formulated meet these needs
• To ensure suitable transport is sourced to avoid Patient breeches
• To take decisions regarding the most cost-effective way of executing transport requests based on a range of cost and service options
• To use judgement to assess priority for each request
• To deal with all members to Trust departments in a courteous and efficient manner
• To control transport providers, both in-house and external, in a professional and efficient a manner
• To ensure all transport movements are recorded and allocated correctly on the daily schedule
• To carry out daily procedures to maintain the scheduling system (backing –up, initiating reports etc)

Working for our organisation

North Bristol NHS Trust employs over 12,000 staff providing healthcare to the residents of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset from our award-winning hospital building at Southmead. We are the regional Major Trauma Centre, and an internationally recognised centre of excellence in a range of services and major specialities. Our vision is that by enabling our teams to be the best that they can be, we will provide exceptional healthcare, personally delivered.

North Bristol NHS Trust values all people as individuals. We aim to be an anti-discriminatory organisation and are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We welcome applicants from all underrepresented groups.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

• To instruct transport providers in a timely fashion in order to meet the service requirements of the patient/ departments
• To attend statutory and mandatory training courses as and when required
• To alert the scheduling supervisor of any problems relating to service and performance of the department
• Identify and communicate service improvement
• To ensure all paper records are kept up to date.
• Sitting in restricted position in front of VDU for long periods

Mental effort

• High levels of concentration over most of the working day dealing with a wide roage of requests for transport
• To maintain a professional and courteous service throughout the working day when dealing with customers/patients/ Trust staff
• Handle complex clinical information
• Changing transport planning on a daily basis to meet the needs of patient discharge

Emotional effort

• Occasionally having to deal with irate customers/patients/drivers

Working conditions

• Using VDU for most of the working day
• Primarily based at one logistics centre, although the post holder may be required to work at other location as and when the needs of the service determine
• Flexibility to work non-standard hours
• Ability to work using own initiative without close supervision

Person specification

Skills

Essential criteria

• Good Geographical Knowledge of Bristol and the surrounding areas

Essential

Essential criteria

• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Working cohesively in a team
• Logistics planning & dispatch experience

Desirable

Essential criteria

• Ability to deal with problems and put in place satisfactory solutions
• Good IT skills, basic knowledge of Word/Excel
• Good Literacy and numeracy skills

Essential

Essential criteria

• Ability to work under pressure
• Ability to work on own initiative with minimal supervision

Desirable

Essential criteria

• Ability to develop good relationships with customers
• A flexible approach to work/willingness to carry out tasks outside area of responsibility

Please note that if you apply for a position with North Bristol NHS Trust, you may be contacted via TRAC or via email. This includes invites for job interviews. We therefore recommend that you regularly check your TRAC Account and email accounts including junk and spam folders.

If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.

If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.