THE private ambulance firm which provided such abysmal service it was stripped of its four-year contract after seven months was paid more than it should have earned for a year of satisfactory performance, The Argus can reveal.

Howls of outrage have greeted the news that Coperforma, contracted to provide non-emergency transport to vulnerable patients across Sussex, was paid £16.2 million by the NHS.

From April 2016 Coperforma Ltd provided an “uber” type smartphone app to direct drivers to patients, and subcontracted work to a dozen different private ambulance companies.

Its tenure included tens of thousands of missed patient journeys, patients being left waiting for hours, patients missing appointments, ambulances being sent to the homes of patients who had died, ambulances operating without a licence, drivers going for months without pay, and misleading statements being made in Parliament.

The contract was worth around £15.75 million per year.

But Coperforma performed so poorly that after seven months the NHS pulled the plug.

There was then a “phased handover” back to NHS ambulance providers, with Coperforma providing some patient journeys for a further three months.

Its contract formally ended after 12 months.

In addition to the £16.2 million paid to Coperforma, the NHS paid close to £1 million in extra payments to help its former staff, while they worked for Coperforma subcontractors who failed to pay salaries or pensions.

Today The Argus can also reveal that NHS managers failed to anticipate demand accurately when drawing up the contract.

And they even paid a special additional payment to Coperforma, as part of the £16.2 million, to ensure the smooth transfer of service back into NHS hands. Union bosses have slammed it as a “good behaviour” payment.

MPs and unions have reacted with fury to the news, with Parliamentary questions now scheduled for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Hove MP Peter Kyle implied senior NHS managers could be forced from their well-paid positions over the disaster.

He said: “At a time of crisis in the NHS, we now know that NHS managers have been pouring taxpayers’ money straight down the drain.

“This is enormous investment for no return whatsoever. In fact, all most patients got for these millions was misery, uncertainty and the indignity of waiting countless hours for a terrible service.

“Taxpayers and patients alike need answers. And they need to know that there are consequences for this gross malpractice. The people who wasted these millions must pay a price.”

Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas turned her fire on the Health Secretary himself.

She said: “That Coperforma were paid this much for providing so little is truly outrageous, and this scandal goes right to the top.

“We are now in 2018 and the private company at the heart of this scandal has gone bust, whilst pocketing millions at the tax payers’ expense for providing a dangerous and failed service.

“What have Ministers been doing to get justice for the patients and staff who were maltreated and put at risk by this appalling shambles?

“What have they done to get taxpayers’ money back?

“The contract fell apart so quickly that those responsible for it must be held to account. But the buck cannot stop there – this is too serious – this outrage is Jeremy Hunt’s responsibility and he should be held accountable.”

Both MPs will ask questions in Parliament,

GMB union regional organiser Gary Palmer told The Argus: “The GMB are absolutely appalled by the obscene size of the financial reward which has found its way to CEO Michael Clayton and directors and owners of Coperforma.”

He said before the contract began, GMB and its ambulance-driver members had warned NHS chiefs that dialysis treatments, surgeries, blood transfusions, diagnostic appointments and discharges and admissions would all be put at risk by the Coperforma business model.

He said: “It’s now clear that ignoring the professionals who delivered the service and offered their advice for free has cost the public millions and millions of pounds.

“On top of that, more money was wasted in a ‘good behaviour’ payment for handing over information to allow a smooth transfer to South Central Ambulance service - which should have happened anyway”.

He insisted High Weald Lewes and Havens Clinical Commissioning Group - which was the lead among the seven Sussex CCGs who commissioned the service - open their books to the public and undertake a full inquiry.

A HWLH CCG spokesman said: “The total payment to Coperforma was £16.2m and, of this, £14.1m related to patient transport services and the demand originally anticipated as part of the contract.

“The additional £2.1m investment was spent on extra transport capacity to meet the demands at acute hospital sites to facilitate patient discharges during periods of high demand.

“This reflects the overall trend of increases in demand on patient services across the region and nationally.

“It also includes investment that ensured the safe transfer of the Patient Transport Service to the new provider last year.”

He said the CCG’s priority had always been patient safety, and that recommendations from reviews undertaken at the time “have been taken forward”.

Wendy Carberry, who earns a six-figure salary as chief executive of HWLH GGC, has been unavailable for comment on the several occasions The Argus has requested interviews over the last week.

TIMELINE

November 2015

- Coperforma awarded £63m, four-year Patient Transport contract by seven Sussex CCGs.

April 2016

- Calls overwhelm Coperforma’s phone lines on day one.

- Thousands of patient journeys are missed in the first two weeks.

- The Argus reveals Coperforma’s smartphone app does not work at its rural ambulance depots.

- First review commissioned

Summer 2016

- Review finds 8/10 renal patients were failed in first three weeks

- Subcontractor V M Langfords goes bust, ambulances seized.

- Second review finds NHS did not field-test Coperforma systems

- Subcontractors publicly claim they are owed tens of thousands

- NHS steps in to pay driver salaries after another subcontractor goes out of business

October 2016

- The Argus reveals ambulances are operating without licences

- The Argus reveals Parliament was misled by the Health Minister over Coperforma

November 2016

- Coperforma lose contract

- A “phased transition” to the NHS’s South Central Ambulance Service begins

- Coperforma’s last significant contribution was in January 2017.

April 2017

- Patient Transport Service formally returns to NHS hands.

December 2017

- Coperforma goes into administration.

- The Argus reveals NHS paid close to £1 million to its former drivers while they were working for Coperforma subcontractors, to cover salary and pension payments not made by employers. The money will not be reimbursed.

January 2018

- MPs and council chiefs demand an inquiry.

- TODAY: We reveal the full cost of the Coperforma debacle.