A WESTBURY man has raised concerns about hospital transport from the town after having to pay more than £200 for taxis when he couldn’t find alternatives.
Both Pete Tickle and his partner had to travel to hospital for day surgery at the end of last year, but neither was well enough to drive and they didn’t have anyone available to take them. The couple instead took taxis and were quoted a total of £263 for two return journeys; one to Swindon Hospital and one to the RUH, Bath.
Pete said he did not believe they were eligible for the NHS’s patient transport or help with costs. Westbury & District Link service does not travel to Swindon, and they had not heard of it at the time of the RUH appointment. He has raised concerns about whether there are enough options for people who are not elderly or disabled, but aren’t able to take themselves or get public transport.
Pete told White Horse News, “I wonder how a pensioner would manage to get to A&E or be there for an appointment. With the closure of Westbury Hospital and specialism moved to places like Bath, Salisbury and Swindon, are we placing people in a position where treatment depends on their ability to get there and back or the generosity of neighbours?”
The NHS’s Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said, “The nature of our county means that travel to our acute hospitals can be challenging and we recognise how frustrating this situation must be for the patients, for whom we have every sympathy.
“In some circumstances patients are able to claim for travel costs through the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme and in certain circumstances, this can include use of taxi. Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group also provides a patient transport service for eligible patients.”
According to the Department of Health, the NHS transport service is available to patients who need staff assistance on the journey, who are not physically able to travel by other means, or whose health or recovery would be badly affected by travelling another way.
A door-to-door minibus connecting the RUH with Wiltshire towns, the Connect2 ‘Hopper’ service, was cut by Wiltshire Council earlier this year despite having been used by nearly 15,000 people each year.
Councillor Philip Whitehead, Wiltshire Council’s cabinet member for transport said, “If people have a clinically stated medical need that prevents them using private or public transport, the NHS has a statutory duty to transport them.
“However if they aren’t eligible, there are other options open to them. These include local Link schemes and community transport groups, and we would always encourage people to take advantage of them. The Westbury Link Scheme is very active and can be contacted on 01373 859669.”
Westbury & District Link Scheme is a service run by volunteers who drive people to medical appointments at local GP surgeries and hospitals.
“Demand is definitely higher than supply for the scheme,” chairman Mike Parker said. “We’d like to be able to say ‘yes’ to everyone, but we are having to turn more people away.
“We made 197 trips in November 2016, 49 of them to the RUH. We have a limited number of drivers and they’re not all available all the time, so we can’t help everyone.
“A lot of people who travel with us are probably eligible for patient transport but people aren’t always happy with it. It takes a lot longer as you have to pick up other patients, then probably wait for them at the end of the day, too. It can add hours on to the day.”
