NHS patients in uproar over 'incompetent' drug delivery serv

[Straight4ward]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014 ... ry-service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The full article is somewhat longer but this section caught my eye;

As part of its services, Healthcare at Home delivers drugs to the home for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, cystic fibrosis, and HIV.
The delivery problems emerged after Healthcare at Home moved in March from an in-house delivery service to using an outside company, Movianto, a big logistics firm operating in Europe with its headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, in the US. It said the move would improve the service, but some of Movianto's IT systems failed despite extensive testing, said Healthcare at Home.
The delivery company, which makes 4,000 "drops" a day, said the IT glitch meant Movianto "did not have full visibility over their delivery schedules", leading to a surge of calls from 3,000 up to 9,000 a day from patients requesting delivery time updates, which have continued for longer than expected.
Among the disappointed patients on NHS Choices was one user who wrote: "This company, used by the NHS, has declined so badly in the last 12 months that I am amazed they are still being used. I depend on life-saving drug delivery from this company and have had so much hassle re: delivery no shows, wrong contents etc that I am now forced to warn others of the incompetence of this service."
Another user of the website, Malcolm R, said: "The NHS should review the use of this incompetent organisation. They do not answer the phone, but charge you for waiting over 40 minutes on the line. They do not reply to emails. They do not deliver the medication you need."
In a statement, the company said it was working hard to fix problems. It said: "Healthcare at Home makes around 4,000 deliveries to patients each day and we have seen a rise in the number of deliveries that have not been delivered on time. Healthcare at Home is fully aware of the inconvenience and anxiety caused to any patient when an agreed delivery slot is missed, and they are working tirelessly to ensure that these issues are unlikely to cause disruption to their patients in the future."