Your Comms Group Case Studies

The HATS Group :  

One of our newest customers is also one of our most inspiring – not just for the work they do, but also for the values they hold themselves up to.

A little bit about HATS

The HATS Group – the HATS stands for Healthcare and Transport Services – was founded in 1995. It provides transport services for NHS and private hospital patients, people with mental health conditions and schoolchildren with Special Education Needs and Disabilities. It also offers private passenger hire services.

HATS has very recently been announced as the winner of the ‘Best Community Transport Service’. These awards have been hosted since 2017 and are designed to shine the light on outstanding organisations across the United Kingdom. Of 14 categories in this year’s awards, HATS were nominated in the ‘UK Transport’ sector, fighting off competition from a huge range of organisations to be crowned the winners.

Founded in 1995, the organisation celebrated its silver anniversary in 2020 – a time when ancillary medical services and staff were stretched to breaking point – by providing vital support and expertise to an overwhelmed public health service.

But that’s not exactly surprising for an organisation that measures itself against four key values that are almost identical to those we live by at YCG.

Those four value propositions – that align with the acronym of the business itself – are simple but effective, and lie at the heart of a service that has won a well-deserved reputation for exceptional service delivery and patient care:

Helpful – ensuring their staff are open and approachable but also resolutely professional in offering a customer experience that is both positive and safe.

Adaptable – prioritising a proactive and responsive approach to work that ensures everyone’s needs are met in an environment that is subject to sudden change.

Teamwork – by recognising that nothing is achieved in isolation and that it takes collaboration, mutual respect and a diverse skillset across the organisation to provide services that meet their own exacting standards.

Sustainable – As a business providing services that inevitably present a sustainability challenge, HATS has committed itself to offsetting its carbon footprint to support NHS and Local Government carbon reduction initiatives.

The Solutions We Provided HATS

Our partnership with HATS sees us provide sims to more than 3,000 HATS ambulance drivers, which are used to access a wide range of network services that help to keep the wheels on the ground rolling and the patients under their care benefiting from the right treatment and medical care at the right time.

The sheer logistics of getting often vulnerable people to crucial appointments, treatment, therapy and lessons takes not only great skill, experience and expertise from everyone involved the business, but also empathy, care, sensitivity and an innate understanding of the human condition.

As it is with the NHS, we are often left in awe by the selflessness and dedication of people who see their roles as vocational. But for all the impressive professionalism of the HATS frontline staff – the drivers and chaperones – it’s how that is matched by everyone else in the business that’s truly remarkable.

Part of that is down to the unswerving commitment that HATS has to training, with all drivers and passenger assistants undertaking a comprehensive training package that includes safeguarding, first aid, Mini Bus Driver Awareness Scheme (MIDAS,) Passenger Assistant Training Scheme (PATS), Understanding Autism, and Epilepsy Awareness.

All of which is reflected in their most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2020, which rated HATS ‘Good’ overall and ‘Outstanding’ for responsiveness.

From expertly trained staff and caring teams, successfully delivering high quality passenger focused transport solutions via a fleet of over 800 vehicles, to the back office staff who ensure those on the road teams are where they should be at the time they should be, we’re proud to play our own very small role in keeping their customers safe.

Our partnership with HATS sees us provide sims to more than 3,000 HATS ambulance drivers, which are used to access a wide range of network services that help to keep the wheels on the ground rolling and the patients under their care benefiting from the right treatment and medical care at the right time.

Why Choose YCG

We have always proved to be cost effective, offering the best value coupled with the best and most relevant technology available for whatever your needs may be.

We have a fantastic billing system which gives us visibility of usage across multiple branches and 100’s of users. Through the platform, we can put hard caps in place which limit airtime and ensure you won’t get any surprise bills, plus real time reports on missed calls and productivity which can prove invaluable to your business.

We make it possible to save back office time and resources by managing all of your telecommunications in one place with one point of contact from our in house experts.

Most of all, we pride ourselves on our customer service – we’re always there to answer a call quickly and with a familiar voice as – like most of our services - we keep our CS in house. We may be biased but we think they’re the best and there’s no problem they won’t endeavour to solve.

We’re looking forward to supporting HATS throughout 2022 and beyond.