NEPT Review

Non-emergency patient transport review │Terms of reference

Context:

The Victorian Government has made an election commitment to conduct a review of the existing procurement arrangements for non-emergency patient transport, to assess whether outsourcing remains the most effective and efficient model to deliver it.

The review will be led by Steve McGhie MP and will be concluded by the end of 2023.

Terms of Reference

The review will:

1. Review the performance of non-emergency patient transport services (NEPT) in Victoria, defined as the timeliness, efficiency, safety and quality of public and private NEPT delivered for public health services, public hospitals and Ambulance Victoria.
2. Commission and oversee independent expert contractors to analyse and compare the total costs, benefits, feasibility, financial sustainability and broader workforce and community impacts of potential alternative procurement strategies, including (but not limited to):
   1. Revising current procurement arrangements to reduce fragmentation, increase operational flexibility and improve workforce pay and conditions.
   2. Replacing current procurement arrangements with an in-sourced delivery model, such as bringing NEPT services within Ambulance Victoria, or within an alternative or new public provider.
3. Identify further strategies beyond procurement to improve sector performance, including by improving route efficiency and resource allocation, reviewing clinical practice protocols, supporting appropriate service use, more fully leveraging workforce skills, and better aligning supply with demand.
4. Consider how the Department of Health can best use its governance, planning, regulatory and commissioning levers to optimize the performance of the NEPT sector.
5. Develop recommendations on how to optimise performance by the NEPT sector in the short-term, and how to position it to better meet the needs of the Victorian community in the future.
6. Release an early discussion paper and call for public submissions from stakeholders responding to these issues.
7. Provide regular progress updates and a final report by the end of December 2023 to the Minister for Ambulance Services.

Guiding principles

In conducting the review, consultation with a range of stakeholders, including but not limited to patients, carers and community representatives; workforce representatives will be undertaken. This includes relevant unions; staff of public health services and public hospitals; Ambulance Victoria and NEPT providers. The review’s recommendations will endeavour to achieve practical, prioritized, efficient and sustainable outcomes that enhance the lives of people who currently (or in future will) use Victoria’s public health system.