Getting patient transport?

My son is having chemo treatment over several months. The problem with hospital transport is all the waiting around, especially if you feel poorly after treatment and just want to get home! You have to be ready about 2 hrs before your appointment and it could also be 2 hrs late. You may have to share the transport, like my late Mum had to once. In rural areas like ours that may mean bumping up and down farm tracks to deliver the other patient to a very remote house. Mum was in agony with all the bumping up and down over miles of potholes.

I am in North Somerset. Although my town has its own hospital and I can get to this by bus, using my electric wheelchair, some appointments are at the Main hospital in Bristol.
I was told about the Hospital Transport system - and one phone call to them determined I was eligible for this (free) service. It picks me up at home they take me right to whichever clinic I have to attend, and then will bring me home.
Lovely people, very helpful - downside is that it does mean that there is so much waiting around - first at home waiting for them to come, and then at the hospital waiting for a journey home - we are talking about hours.
My last appt - couple of weeks ago, I was finished and ready to go home by 2.45pm and finally got collected at 5.15pm Journey takes just under an hour in each direction

tanith

This is 3 year old post.

I usually look at the date of the OP before replying but with Easter holidays come GC who need looking after so I didn't have the time. The youngest has decided she would like a tutorial on cooking bacon and it's only just 8am!
I will check every time in future!!

This is 3 year old post.

Apologies if this has been said by previous posters but it's early and I have 2 GC, full of beans and on school holidays to look after, so I don't have time to read all the replies!!
There are different levels of patient transport. From volunteers using their own cars all the way up to a fully stocked ambulance with stretcher and 2 paramedics. You say you are severely disabled so when you book patient transport for any hospital appointments you will have to be very explicit with the person booking your transport what your needs are regards mobility, getting in and out of vehicles independently or needing lifts and hoists and whether you can sit up or have to lay prone.

Reported the above post.

It depends where you are geographically. I am able to use hospital transport, I'm in Kent. If you ring them they will take you through an assessment and they will repeat that every few months.

The downside is that you generally have to wipe out the whole day, unless your appointment is very early or late in the afternoon. You have to be ready 2 hors before the appointment time and although it hasn't happened to me often they have picked me up 2 hours before and it's only a 15 - 20 minute drive to the hospital. I've also had to wait up to 4 hours to be picked up afterwards. It's frustrating but I'm very grateful to have the service so I just make sure I've got food & drink, my tablet, something to read and a puzzle book!

We have a community transport system round here which is flexible and cheaper than a taxi.

👍

I hope AlieOxon has sorted it out now, but if not here is the link again:

livewell.oxfordshire.gov.uk/Search?CategoryId=143&SM=ServiceSearch

Callistemon21

LaCrepescule

Agree with Maddyone, can you not get a taxi to appointments?

It's not so easy if someone is severely disabled.

Should a taxi driver be expected to help a severely disabled person from their home into the car and from the hospital car park into the correct department for their treatment/appointment? What if the person should fall when being helped? What about the public liability and insurance of the taxi driver?

That’s exactly what Patient Transport Services are for. Ring PALS at the hospital responsible for his care and ask them who the PTS providers would be. Sao times it’s different depending on starting location.

LaCrepescule

Agree with Maddyone, can you not get a taxi to appointments?

It's not so easy if someone is severely disabled.

Should a taxi driver be expected to help a severely disabled person from their home into the car and from the hospital car park into the correct department for their treatment/appointment? What if the person should fall when being helped? What about the public liability and insurance of the taxi driver?

Agree with Maddyone, can you not get a taxi to appointments?

I work in NHS in Glasgow and patients have to phone a number no sooner than ten days before the date of the appointment. They have to do this themselves and it is nothing to do with the hospital, GP or anyone else. I know this because I recently called them to get information for a patient I was trying to arrange an appointment for and he wasn’t able to do the fact finding himself.

Fleurpepper

Jaxjacky

Our voluntary driving service is facing a funding deficit from the local authority, I’m sure we’re not the only ones. These services are often very fragile.

How do these work. Where I am, private cars are used, the driver is not paid for their time, but they are paid for distance covered, and by the person requesting the transport.

I’d guess that it’s because there’s an annual budget allocated which has been reduced, meaning that by the end of the financial year there’s nothing left, waiting for a new annual allocation in April.

You can claim travel expenses, the cheapest way for you to travel, from the cashiers office at a hospital. You will need proof of benefit entitlement.

I used to give someone a lift to appointments, they never offered me the money they received though.

My father was unable to use a car as very frail and couldn’t be loaded in or got out.
I spoke direct to South Central Ambulance Service, who helped transport him to and from for transfusions, eventually by bed, for many months.
His GP surgery were still insisting he wouldn’t be able to access transport, right to the end.

Same fleurpepper, all drivers are DBS checked and payment rates are governed centrally, to do with tax office I think.

Jaxjacky

Our voluntary driving service is facing a funding deficit from the local authority, I’m sure we’re not the only ones. These services are often very fragile.

How do these work. Where I am, private cars are used, the driver is not paid for their time, but they are paid for distance covered, and by the person requesting the transport.

Jaxjacky

Our voluntary driving service is facing a funding deficit from the local authority, I’m sure we’re not the only ones. These services are often very fragile.

Same here.

It seems all our services are in that fragile state. Councils have no money for them. And so it goes on. And people suffer.

Our voluntary driving service is facing a funding deficit from the local authority, I’m sure we’re not the only ones. These services are often very fragile.

Ask your G,P we have volunteer drivers in Cumbria. When DH needed one and it was not available they sent a taxi that was used to doing the job and he even volunteered to get a wheelchair and get DH into the hospital reception desk.

Please search for Ezec hospital transport for the area you live in and enquire with them.

Most areas have an ambulance service which includes a patient transport service for non emergency transport. Call them and they will go through the eligibility criteria with you before you book the journey. Each area has differing criteria to be eligible.

just ring the hosp and ask for hosp transport.
they will take you through the procedure.
it's got nothing to do with GPs. around here anyway.
they and the hosp docs thought it was part of the ambulance service. hasn't been for many years.
they thought i was joking when i mentioned dhl.

It depends on the Hospital and the department treating you. A few years ago when I needed radiotherapy at a hospital some 30 miles away the oncologist recommended that I use Hospital transport. This was partly because he felt that it would be too tiring for me to drive daily and would not want to impose on family but he also said that if the service wasn't used - it would be lost for good. It was sometimes a faff but the drivers were all lovely people and patients using this service were given a cafe card to get free brews in the cafe while waiting either for treatment or for transport.
A colleague had a very poorly husband who was receiving chemo and was spending a fortune on taxis (as she didn't drive and her DH was too ill) and had no idea that such a service was available. She asked the next time they had an appointment and were so relieved to know that this service was available - it was a relief and certainly helped when their finances were so stretched due to his treatment. So do ask - PALS maybe able to help if your GP/consultant can't but it isn't an entitlement unfortunately.