The UK’s largest specialist heart and lung centre, the Royal Brompton Hospital appointed Caring for You to provide transport for patients between its specialist units as well as to and from other hospitals.
Having won the contract, Caring for You selected Enterprise Flex-E-Rent as the fastest, cost-effective and flexible solution to providing the specially adapted, 10-strong fleet of Volkswagen Caddy vans required to meet the needs of the contract.
In addition, Enterprise’s experience in the replacement sector means Caring for You is assured that any vehicle downtime due to maintenance or repair would be immediately filled with a like-for-like replacement.
Enterprise Flex-E-Rent provides vehicles for mid to long-term rental that can be equipped and badged to the customer’s requirements. Enterprise sourced 10 Caddy vans at short notice and, more importantly, fully converted and equipped them to the Royal Brompton Hospital’s stringent patient transport standards.
This includes wheelchair ramps, special storage areas for oxygen bottles and wheelchair storage, all of which were installed in less than five weeks within a strict budget. During the process, each van was adapted to transport up to five seated persons as well as one in a wheelchair.
Caring for You also wrapped the vehicles to help ensure they are returned in good condition: the vinyl wrap protects the paintwork from stone chips and scratches. It also means the company didn’t have to wait for the vehicles to be painted in its colour scheme at the factory, causing delays in getting them on the road.
Dan Donovan, fleet manager at Caring for You, said: ‘Enterprise was willing to work in partnership with us to translate our close understanding of patient needs in transit into the right vehicle specification, at the right time.
‘The Enterprise Flex-E-Rent team was able to get the vans we wanted and convert them to very tight patient transport standards much faster than anyone else. That meant we could provide a great service to the Royal Brompton Hospital – and its patients – without any delay.
‘In addition to maintaining and operating the vans on our behalf, Enterprise ensures like-for-like replacements are instantly available if one of the fleet is off the road. The vehicles are exactly what we needed and we’ve been offered speed, flexibility, cost-effectiveness and truly great service.’