PlusBus for Health

What is PlusBus for Health?

PlusBus for Health is a door-to-door accessible community transport service that helps patients travel between their homes and GP surgeries. The service is available to older or disabled patients in the London Borough of Ealing who:

• cannot safely get to their GP practice because of mobility or other health issues, and
• have limited transport support from friends and family.

The service is commissioned by Ealing Clinical Commissioning Group and began in April 2017, following a successful two-year pilot.

For further information on this service, please read our special focus publication “How PlusBus for Health improves care and tackles loneliness” here.

What is its aim?

PlusBus for Health aims to reduce the number of GP home visits and missed appointments, while improving the wellbeing of patients by offering them an opportunity to leave their homes and meet and socialise with others.

What is its social impact?

Whilst much anecdotal evidence exists on the positive social impact of this service, it was important for us to estimate the resulting social value and cost savings for Ealing Clinical Commissioning Group and the NHS.

In 2018, we conducted research to estimate the social value of our PlusBus for Health (PBH) community transport service. We quantified its impact by looking at changes in the number of:

• missed health appointments;
• home visits by NHS staff; and
• non-elective A&E admissions by patients.

The following conclusions were drawn from the results of the evaluation:

• PBH benefits the loneliest and most isolated older people in the community;
• patients attend more surgery appointments after they start using PBH;
• PBH improves the quality of health care that these patients receive;
• PBH reduces the rate of missed appointments;
• PBH reduces the amount of home visits; and
• PBH has a positive impact on wellbeing.

In total, the research estimates that the cost savings and benefits generated by PBH in the areas outlined above delivered a ‘social value’ worth £354K in the financial year 2017/18. Every £1 spent on PBH during 2017/18 generated a social value of £1.22 (the ‘Social Return on Investment ratio’ in 2017/18 was calculated to be 1.22).

Click here to read our full research report “PlusBus for Health – Impact Evaluation”.