“It’s combined with the training so there is support as well for the drivers,” she says. “We also feed information back to managers and they speak to the drivers after an accident.”

Closing the loop on the risk management and safety policy was the introduction of accident management company Repair Link three years ago.

It handles the entire accident process from first notification of loss to repair of the vehicle with no admin charge to Healthcare At Home.

“They make their money from the repairer – we don’t pay anything for the service,” Smith explains. “It works brilliantly.”

Reporting has been speeded up, helping to prevent third-party costs which can easily spiral out of control, while off-road time has reduced.

The agreement caught the interest of Healthcare At Home’s insurance broker, which was initially sceptical about the no-charge service.

“They came in to have a look and were very impressed,” Smith says. “They are benefiting as well.”

The reduction in accident rates and the quicker reporting of incidents have cut claims costs. As a result, Healthcare At Home’s insurance premiums are gradually falling.

Smith took on fleet responsibilities following a move to Healthcare At Home’s logistics division after working for the organisation for five years in customer services.

The cycling fanatic – she recently took a three-week holiday to follow this year’s Tour de France – says the logistics manager “recognised my administrative abilities” which led to her appointment, a decision she describes as “a turning point” in her career.

“I was effectively doing the job for a couple of years before they recognised that I needed a title because it was a role that wasn’t being done before,” Smith says. “It was a fast-learning process.”

Following encouragement from her line manager to seek out an organisation that could help her to learn about fleet management, a Google search and a recommendation from her account manager at Lex pointed her in the direction of the ICFM.

“I did the introductory course and now I’m doing the management course,” says Smith. “It’s given me a foundation to the knowledge I already had but didn’t know whether what I was doing was correct.

“I’ve also met a lot of people that have helped me with their knowledge in areas where I could improve my processes.

"It’s given me confidence in running a fleet and also helped me to put forward arguments to my manager .”