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Hospital and ambulance providers seek faster psychiatric transfers; council asks for contract review
Summary
Hospital and ambulance providers told the council psychiatric patients were waiting multiple hours for transfer, and the council directed staff to secure reports and set a meeting to explore contract changes.
Hospital officials told the Bastrop City Council that psychiatric ("psych") patients are sometimes waiting six to eight hours for transport to appropriate facilities, creating safety and operational concerns at the emergency department.
Kelsey Petal, identified at the meeting as an ER director at Washington (Morehouse-area hospital), said the hospital’s capacity for handling psychiatric patients has been strained by a local termination of a sheriff’s office transfer agreement and limited availability from private ambulance companies. “We either need to find some other office, try to find some other form of able to get these patients transfer account, maybe revise a contract,” she told the council.
Blake Taylor, operations manager for PAPRUNS (an ambulance provider in the region), told the council a national and regional shortage of psychiatric inpatient beds is driving longer waits and long-distance transfers. He said crews try to avoid very long night transfers that take an ambulance out of service for multiple hours and increase safety risk. He asked council members to allow the city and ambulance contractor to revise contract terms so an alternate company can complete psychiatric transfers when needed.
What the council asked and directed: The ambulance provider agreed to provide the contractual monthly reports that the council said are required under the current service contract, and PAPRUNS offered to sit down promptly with the hospital ER director and the mayor to review operations and potential contract changes. The transcript records an offer by PAPRUNS to “sit down and review with the hospital ... to see what we can come to and make a resolution to move forward,” and an ambulance representative agreed to provide the requested call data when formally requested.
Why it matters: Extended waits for psychiatric transfer tie up ER resources and create safety concerns for both staff and patients, hospital officials said. The council and providers discussed options including 1) clearer contract terms to define psychiatric transfers and timelines, 2) a secondary vendor option when the primary provider cannot respond within a defined timeframe, and 3) improved reporting to allow the council to monitor performance.
Outcome and follow-up: The contract was not amended at the meeting. Providers and hospital leadership agreed to meet and share the required reports; PAPRUNS said it would involve its operations director and the hospital’s ER director in follow-up talks. The council instructed staff to ensure required monthly call reports are provided to the council going forward. No formal vote was recorded on changes to the contract during the session.
Ending: Hospital representatives asked the council for an “ASAP” solution to limit patient wait times; ambulance providers agreed to meet and to produce contract reports on request so the council can monitor response times and assess whether the service contract needs amendment.
