Taxi Driver Online

In the line of duty, my operator has a contract with the local Health Trust : Effectively we :-

-Transport PATIENTS & staff
- Case Notes
- Live boilogical substances
- blood (routine as well as URGENT)
- X-rays
- Patient medication
- surgical equipment
- etc etc etc

My question is this :- When delivering for example a blood sample from hospital A- hospital B. Would you expect to deliver to reception area of hospital B, or would you be expected to deliver to pathology (at what ever time of day or night). Myself, I believe as a taxi driver my job is to deliver the item from A-B. At reception it should be taken off me and either given to a porter to deliver or the neccessary department phoned to come and collect. In terms of patients,we pick up discharge patient who are still in their night gowns, accompanied with several bags from a ward about 300 yards from the trasport bay and are expected to wheel out the patients ourselves on our own. This contravenes health and safety law.....ie not trained to do that/am not an employee of the hospital etc etc. If anything happened whislt doing this......am I insured ?????? NO, not by the hospital as not an employee, not by my operator because I am self employed !!!!!!

On each occassion particularly out of hours, the men on reception are security men and who plainly to refuse to handle the package and insist we deliver to the necessary departments. Bearing in mind we could pick up germs and viruses , and more importantly be TAKING IN viruses and germs to a sterile environment. Your views would be appreciated !!!!

What does it say on the contract?

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I am just a driver.......have no knowledge on the contract itself. Basing my opinion on 'common sense' !

I doubt common sense comes into it.

The destination/ drop off should be stated when the pick up is arranged or told to the driver when he picks up.
Delivery should be per these instructions.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

As for patients, if they are incapable of getting from the ward to your taxi, it is the hospital's responsibility to ensure their safety.
They are not discharged until they are off the premises.

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Would you want a family member's urgent specimen left at reception?

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IDFIMH

Why don't you leave that firm, and go and work without a radio?

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IDFIMH

Wear your id badge and take it to the department......if you think you should be paid extra for doing this type of work....go tell your boss who may well ask you if this really is the job for you.

CC

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Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
George Carlin

I fully understand your concerns as I have heard them lots of times from drivers I have worked with. The company I worked for also has a hospital contract for very much the same as yourself. Can I ask if you have to do this work or can you opt out of it? I don't think it's unreasonable to deliver samples to a path lab and a lot of the drivers add waiting time because the path lab is a fair work a way, but, with regards to wheeling patients inside the hospital that has to be something of a concern if you're not insured to do so, check with your insurer. Don't forget before moving or lifting anything do a risk assessment, if the risk is too high dont do it, simples

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Note to self: Just because it pops into my head does NOT mean it should come out of my mouth!!

Whilst plated in North Wales and in Warwickshire i did 1000's of miles and 100's of patient movements, paid for by the ambulance services, the job was door to unit and back (if a return) and use a wheelchair if required at the hospital, i got paid for it so i did it, never questioned it, i sometimes waited, sometimes carried on another job, sometimes had patients in the car for other units or hospitals.

cant see the problem, and if i had x-rays for a ward or unit thats where i took them.

ive also taken a 999 patient who didnt need a paramedic ambulance 60 miles to Bangor hospital, leaving the front line ambulance available back in the town. (at the discretion of ambulance control of course)

Dialysis patients were ALWAYS delivered to, and collected from, the dialysis units

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

Christ, i used to courier travel vaccines around the country and often had them in our fridge at home, every nasty variety you can name

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

I didn't say anything about leaving them at reception ????? I said a porter should take them, or pathology or which ever department should come and collect them from reception. Let me just clarify that I work evenings/nights and when a situation like the one we are discussing arises....... it is usually from our local hospital to another hospital in the region. THEREFORE, how (1) do you expect me to know where the relevant departments are within the recipient hospital (2) Is it not a security risk for an outsider (wearing a taxi) badge to be wandering around a hospital (3) If reception staff cannot handle blood, specimens etc beacause of the nature of the content ...... then WHY SHOULD I ?????

DOES THAT MEAN YOU WERE RIGHT IN DOING SO ???

Captain Cab !!! I don't know many people that do something 'work related' for a non financial reason. My boss in turn takes on a hospital contract not for charitable reasons but for financial gains !!! Paid extra for this type of work ???????? No....... just paid the amount due for the work done from start to finish ( ie metered from start to finish) !!!

As gus alludes the hospital and your boss should have the precise procedures for all this in writing and communicated to the relevant parties so everyone knows precisely what's expected of them.

Of course, clearly that's not what's happening here, but I suspect you feel that if you challenge the status quo then you'll be the one considered to be in the wrong and rocking the boat, even by asking some simple questions. Your boss may not like to be seen to be asking akward questions either, because this kind of thing could jeopardise the contract he has with the health authority, thus money is more important than creating a fuss.

Unfortunately that's how much of the world operates and it's difficult to know what to do in such situation other than to keep quiet and just grin and bear it.