Final Mile: giving patients clearer information about their medication deliveries
Knowing when a medication delivery will arrive can make an important difference to patients receiving treatment outside hospital.
That is why we have introduced Final Mile, a new digital programme designed to strengthen communication with patients and make our transport operations more efficient.
Final Mile forms part of our wider Digital Transformation Programme and gives our teams better tools to manage and track deliveries across our network. For patients, the most noticeable change is an additional update on delivery day.
An additional update on delivery day
Patients will continue to receive their existing text message the evening before delivery, confirming their two-hour delivery window.
They will now also receive a second SMS when their driver is approximately 30 minutes away.
Patients do not need to take any action when they receive the message. It gives them more information about the progress of their delivery and more time to prepare for the driver’s arrival.
The new notification is designed to provide greater certainty around delivery timings, while also helping to reduce failed delivery attempts and support more efficient, on-time deliveries.
Better information for the teams supporting patients
Final Mile also strengthens the way deliveries are managed behind the scenes.
Using the Microlise Smart Pod mobile app, our drivers have a clearer view of their daily delivery journeys, while the programme supports improved consignment tracking, route visibility and delivery performance reporting.
During the early rollout at our Swansea site, Patient Services colleagues reported having better information about delivery progress, enabling them to provide more accurate updates when patients contacted us with a query. Delivery colleagues also found activities including navigation, managing failed deliveries and end-of-day debriefing easier to complete.
Final Mile also reduces some of the manual paperwork involved in transport operations, helping teams work more efficiently across the delivery network.
Improving the patient delivery experience
Medication delivery is an important part of treatment for many of the patients we support. Clear communication and reliable arrangements help patients know what to expect and plan around their delivery.
Final Mile has been developed to support a better delivery experience while giving our teams greater oversight.
The programme has been introduced in phases, supported by testing, colleague training and business readiness activity. Maintaining continuity of medication deliveries and minimising disruption to patients has remained a priority throughout the rollout.
For our NHS customers, Final Mile represents a practical enhancement to the service their patients receive, with clearer communication around deliveries and greater operational visibility.
Continuing to improve our services
Final Mile is one part of our wider work to strengthen the systems that support patients receiving treatment outside hospital.
By giving patients more timely updates and our teams better delivery information, we can make an important part of the treatment journey easier to manage.
As Final Mile becomes embedded across our network, we will continue to learn from how it is working in practice and use that insight to shape further improvements to the services we provide.