A private ambulance company serving Welsh hospitals has gone bust and reportedly owes employees two months' wages. Angry staff have accused Point to Point Services of a "disgusting" lack of communication in the weeks before its collapse.
The firm, which specialised in non-emergency patient transport, had a base in Llantrisant serving Royal Glamorgan Hospital near Talbot Green and Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. It had six staff stationed in Llantrisant and around 30 in total, according to sources at the business, which was headquartered in Herefordshire and described itself as a UK-wide service.
Point to Point, which was two months overdue in filing its accounts, received a notice on January 2 warning the company faced being struck off within two months. But staff claim they carried on working without being told of the firm's issues until it ceased trading on January 25 – allegedly one day before they were due to be paid.
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One of the Llantrisant-based workers claims to be owed £2,500. They told WalesOnline: "The infuriating thing is they were happy for us to work knowing that there were struggles. I should have realised there were issues when I had to use my own money to put petrol into the vehicle and had to fight to get reimbursed."
The worker says their shift was cancelled at 9am on January 25 and two hours later they and their colleagues received an email from Point to Point managing director Simon Jenkins. The email read: "It is with regret that I write to inform you that, as of 09:00 on 25th January 2024, Point to Point Services Limited has ceased trading. This decision, though difficult, was made after careful consideration, and I understand that this news may come as a surprise." He went on to say that staff should send any questions to the administrators. The worker described the email as "completely out of the blue" given that staff rotas were scheduled until March.
Staff told us they are struggling to pay their bills. One Llantrisant worker, a single mum who did not wish to be named, claims she is owed around £2,300. The mum claims she worked a 10-hour shift the day before the company announced it would cease trading. "This is an absolute shambles," she said. "Luckily I have an amazing support network but the lack of communication is disgusting."
The liquidator, Company Liquidations Limited, said it understands staff are owed two months' pay. When we asked why staff were not told of the company's issues sooner the liquidator replied: "This will be investigated as part of the statutory investigations."
Eleanor Findlay, of Company Liquidations, said: "Employees can claim up to eight weeks' arrears from the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS). Anything over that is a claim in the liquidation. The date of liquidation is set for February 21, 2024. Once the company is in liquidation the liquidators will send the required information to the RPS and the employees. It cannot be sent prior to the company entering liquidation. The employees will then submit their claims via the RPS online portal. They will be paid by the RPS once they have agreed their claims."
According to accounts filed in 2022 the company had current assets of £135,526 and debts of £296,688. Its website described it as a "leading private independent ambulance service" providing "non-emergency patient transport, high-dependency transfers, and 999 services to private individuals, private healthcare providers, and the NHS". The business also provided cover for events and sporting fixtures. Mr Jenkins was also approached for comment.
