Patient Transport Service – Information

PTS is available for patients who meet the eligibility criteria and who have been authorised by their medical practitioner for transport with PTS.

Preparing for transport

If you require PTS, your doctor or health care professional will provide QAS PTS staff who are transporting you with information about your medical condition prior to transport. There are some important things you and/or your carer can do to help ensure that your PTS journey is as comfortable and efficient as possible:

• make sure you are ready before the advised pick-up time
• have all required items packed before pick-up
• inform the PTS staff of any special conditions when they arrive.

Luggage

In the interest of patient and QAS staff safety, PTS has luggage size and weight restrictions of 10 kilograms to ensure each patient's belongings can fit into the vehicle and be safely secured. As a rule, patients can bring one luggage bag and one personal item, such as a handbag, briefcase or laptop.

Travelling with other patients

To ensure an efficient and effective use of available QAS transport vehicles, patients who are travelling in a similar direction will be transported together. This may result in multiple pick-ups and drop-offs during the transport.

Escorts and Family members

There is limited provision to accommodate carers, family members or friends during transport. As such, only parents/carers of children under the age of 16 and carers of patients who have been assessed as vulnerable can accompany patients during transport. While the QAS recognises that patients would like the support of family and/or friends with them during transport, filling these places may mean that other patients with medical needs may not be able to travel.

Booking times

Please ensure that you are ready in advance of the advised “pick up time”. This does not indicate that you will be transported at that time, however, every effort will be made to be as close to that time as possible. If you are being transported for an appointment, your booking will be made to ensure you arrive in time for your scheduled appointment. Please be advised that delays may occur when there are peaks in QAS patient demand. In these circumstances, PTS will liaise directly with your facility or authorising medical practitioner to come to an appropriate solution. Only health care professionals, staff in hospitals, aged care facilities, private hospitals, nursing homes and general practitioner's (GP) surgeries can make patient transport bookings. Patients and carers may make a patient transport booking only if they have been provided a medically authorised transport form by the General Practitioner.

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