In partnership with NHS Grampian and Manx Care, ABM, one of the UK’s leading providers of aviation services, has introduced an industry-leading training programme to enhance its services to passengers travelling to and from medical appointments.
ABM team members, based at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport and Aberdeen International Airport, will receive specific training to help NHS patients who have medical support needs, travelling through the airports’ arrivals and departure terminals. The training has involved learning about the needs of patients with hidden illnesses and disabilities and how to support them. These include condition such as bipolar, epilepsy, anxiety, cancer and Crohn’s Disease.
The training, which has been developed in partnership with NHS Grampian and Manx Care, enhances the services that ABM already provides for passengers with reduced mobility (PRM).
Samantha Saunders, Head of Assisted Services at ABM, says: “Limited hospital and other medical facilities in places such as Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Isle of Man mean that often patients are transferred through airports, to access the medical support they require from other areas of the country. Our teams, at bothAberdeen Airport and Liverpool John Lennon, assist around 10 NHS patients per day that may need support before or after an appointment.
“The training that we have introduced builds on the support that our teams already offer to vulnerable passengers. We want to extend our expertise and our teams’ interpersonal skills to passengers who may also be feeling particularly vulnerable, who may have received difficult news and need help during their travels. We strive to make a difference every day and this initiative is a great example of that effort and commitment to go above and beyond.”