A CUSTOMER care scheme run by Lancashire Ambulance Service has won praise from a national health watchdog.

A manager has been visiting hospitals and other health centres to listen to concerns of patients who use the non-emergency transport service.

The feedback Jackie Houghton has received has allowed her to develop several new initiatives which drew praise from the Commission for Health Improvement (CHI).

One example was the need to have special seats set aside for children to make their trips to hospital more comfortable.

It published a national report on the state of the country's ambulance services, highlighting examples of good practice and singled out Lancashire.

David Hill, chief executive of Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: "We encourage a culture of introducing initiatives which provide an ever-increasing quality of service to patients and it is very pleasing to see this particular initiative highlighted as one which can benefit patients nationally.

"Our customer care manager works closely with patients, their families, their carers, and with hospital departments, to introduce improvements which will benefit individual patients and make their experience of ambulance transport to NHS services more comfortable and convenient."

The report by CHI said: "The patients transport service customer care manager at Lancashire has an extensive programme of visiting hospitals and other outreach centres in the area.

"These meetings provide an opportunity for addressing issues related to PTS. This gives an opportunity for sharing information and is valued by these organisations. An example of improvement as a result of this contact is the purchase of child specific seats. The need for one of these seats is identified in the booking process and passed to the driver to ensure that the correct seat is provided for the child."