How Medical Courier Services Improve Healthcare Logistics in the UK? 

There is no question that the UK’s healthcare system is in crisis and irrespective of what needs to be done, there just doesn’t seem enough money available. The NHS relies wholly on government funding, and it has been clear for many years that there is a shortfall in the funding available. Not only does this mean that hospitals struggle to provide even the most basic of care at times, usually as a result of having too many patients for too few beds.  

Why are medical courier services an important part of healthcare logistics? 

And where beds are concerned, there is the ongoing problem of ‘bedblockers’. This is a term given to patients who remain in hospital, occupying a much-needed bed, and who are well enough to be discharged, but who still require ongoing medical help. The problem is, they have no equipment in their home that will be required to assist with their medical problems. 

To a degree, this is where medical courier services can make such a huge difference and help to take a certain amount of pressure off the NHS. 

Demand for medical courier services is not constant and, as a result, it would be a waste of NHS resources to have full-time staff and a fleet of vans or wagons that weren’t used every hour of the working day. Instead, there is the option to outsource ‘home help’ and for many businesses that offer support for frail people in their homes, having the support of a medical courier service is an essential part of their operations. 

Some medical couriers are more than just delivery people 

You would be mistaken if you thought that the couriers who worked for Distribusha simple ensured that your products are delivered safely and on time. Of course, as couriers, don’t forget that we also collect products from third parties and can have them delivered to you. This works well if you urgently need a spare part to finish the repairs to a critical piece of equipment you are overhauling or repairing. 

However, in providing a medical courier service, our couriers are better described as technicians as that is a more accurate description of their skills and abilities. That also goes a long way to explaining how, as an established medical courier in the UK, we are able to take some of the burden off the NHS and provide an invaluable service to individuals who are in a vulnerable state, health wise. Healthcare logistics companies almost have a duty of care to provide more than a basic delivery service, and it is on this basis that Distribusha has built its reputation as being a trusted medical courier. 

Building trust as a medical courier 

Here at Distribusha, when we are asked if we provide medical courier services, we are often asked if we can do installations of medical equipment. The reason the question is asked is all about streamlining operations and expediency. If you are a provider of medical equipment direct to end users or a supplier of medical equipment to end users, organising delivery of your products is one thing, having it installed and operational is a totally different challenge if your medical courier is unable to install the equipment. It becomes a logistical nightmare organising delivery from one company, then finding a technician from another company who can be there when the delivery arrives. 

At Distribusha, we work closely with manufacturers and distributors/suppliers of medical equipment so that our courier-technicians can be fully trained on how to install medical equipment. For us it is important that we do all we can to ensure that the medical equipment is not just delivered but also installed and a status report provided when the job is complete. That way, as a manufacturer/supplier, if you are working directly with the NHS, you are able to keep them efficiently up to date and such efficiency will go a long way to seeing contracts renewed! 

What are the key areas for a medical courier to concentrate on? 

Frequently, it is very much case that any request for the delivery of medical equipment, or parts to facilitate the repair of medical equipment, will have the word ‘urgent’ attached to it. Medical equipment is there for a reason, usually to help people who are unwell, or to ensure people remain healthy. Consequently, logistics in the healthcare industry plays a vital role in patient welfare and while we talk about the NHS, the same applies to the private healthcare sector of the industry as well. 

• The first key area therefore is timely deliveries. Most requests for medical courier services come with time-sensitive instructions. If a dentist’s drill stops functioning and a new part is required, a delivery day could cause extreme discomfort to many, many of the dentist’s patients. Same-day delivery is what would be expected of a healthcare logistics company, i.e., a medical courier. Timely deliveries are also critical when acting as a pharma logistics company, providing a medical courier service for the delivery of drugs to either pharmacies, hospitals or direct to patients at home. In each instance, that delivery will need to be carried out as soon as possible. 
• Secure handling is also critically important when handling key medical equipment, spares, or pharmaceuticals. It is all very well delivering critical supplies, parts or medical equipment, but not if it all gets damaged in transit. With some medical equipment, it can be relatively heavy and therefore require more than one courier to load and unload it, and also install it. In addition, to ensure that heavy medical equipment is not damaged unnecessarily in transport, we use delivery vehicles with a tail lift, and trolley forks to move the equipment once offloaded. 
• Feedback and testing may not be a phrase you might expect to hear when discussing healthcare logistics services, but at Distribusha, this is a key element of our comprehensive medical courier services. From a supplier or manufacturer’s point of view, you are going to want to know when your product(s) was delivered and if a critical piece of equipment, that is has been successfully installed and is fully operational. If you are the person who has ordered the equipment but will not be present at the location where it is delivered, you too are going to want to know if everything went smoothy. At Distribusha we believe that good communication with all involved parties is key to a successful outcome for all. 
• 24/7 availability is again something that not many courier companies offer, but as a medical courier, we believe we have no option but to be available to everyone not just throughout the week, but throughout the nighttime as well as daytime. For some situations, installing equipment might be too disruptive to operations during the daytime and therefore after ‘office hours’ would be more convenient. Similarly, if a vital piece of medical equipment breaks down, speed of delivery can be critical and having a medical courier who is happy to do an overnight delivery to ensure there has been minimal time lost, and minimal disruption can be a huge bonus. 

Finally, there is the nationwide coverage that we offer here at Distribusha. Many manufacturers and suppliers of medical equipment supply the whole of the UK and they want a reliable medical courier who has the appropriate network for rapid deliveries. If you have a business in Bristol and need medical equipment delivered to Inverness in Scotland, you aren’t going to want to waste time trying to find a medical courier in Inverness. Instead, all you have to do is contact us here at Distribusha and wherever you want your goods delivered, we will do it for you as we are a leading UK medical courier covering the whole of the British Isles. 

 Got any questions? Call us: 01923 828460 – it costs nothing to talk – or  

Email us: info@distribusha.co.uk and we’ll get straight back to you. 

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