2006/7 feedback on the new scheme

Home Delivery Service provided by Healthcare at Home, Applied Dispensary Services Division (ADS)

Background

Patients enrolling on the Healthcare at Home scheme between August 1st 2006 and February 28th 2007 were invited to complete an anonymous patient satisfaction survey. 43 patients responded out of 273 patients who were using the service by the end of February 2007 (15.75%)

The majority of patients who responded live in London, 37% of respondents in either West or North West London.

Patients on the scheme are offered 3 delivery options:

Delivery to a designated Post Office of their choice
Delivery by post to their home or place of work
Delivery by van to their home

Outcomes

Table 1: Chosen Mode of Delivery of respondents

	Number	%
To a designated Post Office	8	19
By post to home or work	18	42
By van No answer	16 1	37 2

 

Table 2: Did Clinic Staff Explain the system clearly to you?

	Number	%
Yes	43	100
No No answer	0 0	0 0

Table 3: Did the leaflet contain all the necessary information?

	Number	%
Yes	43	100
No No answer	0 0	0 0

Table 4: How long did it take, after your clinic appointment for ADS to contact you?

	Number	%
Less than 5 days	2	5
5 days 6 days 7 days	31 4 3	72 9 7
More than 7 days	3	7

Table 5: Did you find the ADS staff helpful & pleasant on the phone?

	Number	%
Yes	43	100
No No answer	0 0	0 0

Table 6: Were the medicines packed safely to ensure no damage during transit?  

	Number	%
Yes	43	100
No No answer	0 0	0 0

Table 7: Was the delivery correct & complete?  

	Number	%
Yes	42	98
No No answer	0 1	0 2

Table 8: Did ADS contact you just before delivery to confirm arrangements?

	Number	%
Yes	40	93
No Not required Patient abroad just before delivery	1 1 1	2 2 2

Table 9: Did you have at least 1 week’s supply of drugs remaining when you received your delivery?  

	Number	%
Yes	43	100
No No answer	0 0	0 0

Table 10: If your delivery came by post, did it arrive as quickly as expected?

	Number	%
Yes	22	85
No No answer	0 4	0 15

Table 11: If your delivery came by van, was the date/time convenient for you?

	Number	%
Yes	15	94
No No answer	0 1	0 6

Table 12: If your delivery came by van, did it arrive within the agreed 3 hour period?

	Number	%
Yes	15	94
No No answer	0 1	0 6

Table 13: If your delivery came by van, was it left with you or your nominated representative?

	Number	%
Yes	15	81
No No answer	0 1	0 19

Table 14: What do you like most about the service?

Respondents made several comments

	Number of patients
Not having to wait at Pharmacy	19
Convenient	11
Not having to carry large parcels	9
It saves money for the Trust Efficient service Private Practical Secure Friendly staff Good service Can collect from the depot if necessary Maintained confidentiality impressively	6 6 3 1 1 1 1 1 1

Table 15: What do you like least about the service?

	Number of patients
Remembering to wait in for delivery Having to collect them from the sorting office Would like to get drugs from the doctor Being confined to home to wait for delivery Was told required a card to collect delivery which I did not have Package was intact but had a hole in it Requested van delivery but received postal delivery	1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Table 16: Suggestions to improve the service

	Number of patients
Receive 6 months supply at once Delivery man should ask for ID Pravastatin comes in boxes of 28 which can lead to shortages over 3 months Would like a post card as well as a phone call to remind you to collect drugs Shorter time frame for delivery e.g. 1 hour Would prefer patient number not on outside of the box, just name	1 1 1   1 1 1

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2005/6 feedback on the original scheme

Here are the results of the feedback from the first patients on the Home Delivery scheme for HIV drugs at Wharfside in late 2005 and early 2006, plus what we've done as a result

Total number of patients on scheme		26
Number of feedback forms received		14
Mode of delivery	Van	5
	Parcel Force	8
	both	1
Did clinic staff explain clearly how this would work?		14 = 100%
Did the leaflet contain all necessary information?		13 = 93%
How long did it take, after your appointment with your doctor, for the contractor to contact you by phone?
	5 days	3
	6 days	1
	7 days	0
	more than 7 days	10
Did you find the contractor's staff member helpful & pleasant on the phone?
	Yes	12
	No	2
Was the delivery date/time agreed convenient for you?
	Yes	8
	No	5
	Yes and No	1
Were the medicines packed safely to ensure no damage during transit?
	Yes	13
	No	1
Was the delivery correct & complete?
	Yes	12
	No	1
	Yes and No	1
Was the delivery note signed by a pharmacist?
	Yes	6
	No	6
	No answer	2
Did the contractor contact you just before the delivery to confirm delivery arrangements?
	Yes	11
	No	3
Did you have at least 1 week’s supply of drugs remaining when you received your delivery?
	Yes	12
	No	1
	No answer	1
For van delivery - Did the delivery arrive within the agreed 3 hour period?
	Yes	6
	No	2
If not were you contacted by the contractor to explain the delay?
	No	3
	Not applicable	5
Was the delivery left with yourself or your nominated representative?
	Yes	7
	No answer	1
Postcodes and numbers of patients participating in trial scheme
CR 1 SO 1 E 2 NW 3 SE 1 SW 2 HA 1 N 1 EC1 1 W10 1
Summary of Comments Late delivery Terrible Late but helpful They didn't turn up Good but almost too punctual Good but delivered after 7 days Good Poor communication & wanted to deliver at their convenience rather than mine Good but delay due to being out of stock There was a long post office queue Delivery should come when you have 2 weeks of drugs left in case there is a problem The van delivery was not on time and kept me waiting in at home all day I like the convenience and not having to wait at Pharmacy

 

What's happened with this feedback?

The feedback from the original trial scheme has been passed to the new contractor and we hope that this helps them ensure they get it right from August 2006 when they take over and more patients can be offered the option of having drugs delivered at home.

The patient leaflet about the scheme has been revised and we hope that it now includes everything you need to know about the scheme.

We can't control queues at the post office, but the new contractor doesn't use Parcel Force, instead they send drugs by Post Office Special Delivery - this guarantees delivery by 1pm on the next working day after the drugs are posted to your address (sometimes they may arrive on a Saturday if posted on a Friday, but this is not guaranteed). If you are out when they come, the postie will leave a card so you can either have it delivered again, or left at the local post office for you to collect it.

Some post offices are not aware that they should NOT charge a 60p fee for collecting items - if the post office ask for this fee, politely tell them they are wrong and to check.

We have impressed on the new contractor that we do not expect the van delivery option to be pushed on patients if they prefer postal delivery.

Thanks to all the patients who completed their feedback forms for this pilot scheme!!

If you have any questions about Home Delivery in general, speak with your doctor at your next appointment or email us at Wharfside Patients' Forum, forum@wharfside.org.uk .

We hope this information is useful to you.