A new travel scheme is being rolled out which will allow staff to hire a car when travelling on NHS business.

The online staff car hire scheme is for all staff who plan to undertake a work related journey over 50 miles in distance or for a period of greater than four hours.

Once registered on the Enterprise B2B system, staff will be able to book a hire car online which can be delivered to their place of work or even their own home. Enterprise also offer a free pick up and return service if parking at your location is an issue.

Marie Porteous, head of sustainability and environment manager, who is overseeing the project, said: “We’ve successfully piloted the car hire scheme with our biomedical and labs teams across our three acute sites, as well as our property and support service division staff and staff at Coathill Hospital since January 2015.

“They’ve all reported that the system’s been very simple to use when requesting a vehicle.”

Once rolled out, all staff, who don’t have a lease car and who commute over 50 miles for one journey over the course of a day, will be expected to use the car hire scheme.

Marie continued: “As everyone is aware, the organisation is facing increasing financial challenges and has to demonstrate value for money.

“The pilot of the car hire scheme has delivered a saving of 44 per cent over paying expenses for miles travelled.

“A small car costs around £12 a day to hire as opposed to a journey of 100 miles at a standard rate of 56p per mile which is a saving that can be reinvested in patient services.

“The vehicles used are also generally more environmentally friendly with lower emissions than the grey fleet which has a mix of cars of age and condition.”

Some staff will have already received an email prompting them to register for the scheme as well as instructions on how they can do this.

For more information visit FirstPort