Why do hospitals, most of whom have large catchment areas, make accessing them so difficult?

Many years ago I worked in Nottingham, which operated a service from the town centre and the park and ride free out of town car parks, which took you to all the major hospitals by bus. I don’t know if it’s still there, but it was a brilliant service.

Having experienced this I totally agree. Mr C’s heart valve repair process involved 90 minutes minimum of travelling each way by public transport with an uphill walk at the end. The hospital does have a tiny car park. As it all became too much we arrived at 7.30am when a space was guaranteed, once the cafe was open we went for breakfast, if a morning appointment we could go from there to the waiting area. If an afternoon appointment we’d find a seat in the area between the cafe and the waiting area and drink a lot of coffee. How we’d have coped as he became more unwell if I didn’t drive I have no idea, there is no local family now. Hospital transport is hard to get and if they agree it’s only for the patient unless they have dementia. We both fear the need to go there when very unwell.

Fortunately I have no need to attend hospital, but have been told that parking at our three county hospitals is dire.
In preparation, should I need to attend any of them, I have a plan of driving to a near point where parking is easy and calling a taxi to take me onward to the hospital.

this post isn't moaning about the NHS it is asking how logistically it is near on impossible for people to attend their appointments alone, or even with a relative who can drive when they are very unwell and cannot walk or walk far and what do they do if they can't park?

I completely agree M0nica. The parking at my local hospital is abysmal and getting there by bus would involve a change of buses, difficult when you are both sight and hearing impaired and not that mobile. Fortunately for me it’s near enough for me to take a taxi but they aren’t allowed to drop off any where near the entrance so I have quite a walk even before I start trying to navigate the hospital itself. I know it’s difficult when there’s only so much land and an ever increasing population to serve but surely the powers that be could give this more thought.

The NHS is not responsible for the car parks at hospitals, neither are they responsible for public transport that may or may not take people to their appointments.

Some patient transport is available but this is also a separate and poorly funded service.

If your 'local' hospital is 20 miles away then this may be due to more local services having been cut back or centralised, usually by successive Tory governments.

There are moves to return some health provision back to more community based services. In my local town all out-patient and diagnostic services have been moved to the town centre where people can access them by car, bus or train very easily. I think this is the way forward for many other communities too. It is a Labour initiative working closely with the NHS and frees up the hospital to provide more urgent and specialist health services.
I agree it is a huge issue for many with mobility and access problems, maybe you should contact your local NHS trust to find out what their plans are to improve accessibility for all NHS users.

my husband also has a severe heart condition. I have to take time off work and drive to drop him off at the door and on a few occasions haven't been able to par either, so he's had to go in alone and then i pick him up when he gets out. I don't know what would happen if I couldn't do this or her needs a wheelchair at any point

I'm sorry I'm no help. I feel a bit sad today about everything and I don't know what we would do if I couldn't do this fortnightly. Work are being ok atm but you know what companies are like

I don't know if we would qualify for a blue badge but all the disabled spaces are taken up too

I feel your pain Monica

DH had a series of appointments at a hospital in a city some 20 miles away. To avoid the hassle of finding our way to somewhere strange we opted for hospital transport - which arrived to collect us 30mins after his appointment time!

For subsequent appointments we drove ourselves. A couple of times parking was difficult but on most occasions we found a space immediately. As regular attendees we got a free parking pass.

At that hospital, and one in another city that he has to attend, we've found that the car parks serving outpatients are best. Although we've often had to wait a short while, there is a frequent turn-over of patients and thus parking spaces.

Agree entirely MOnica re the worrying extra burden placed on already ill patients. Maybe a scheme allowing frail patients a discount for hospital journeys with approved local taxis. Many hospitals do offer transport in approved cases but often provided grudgingly and with a lot of hanging about.

This needs to be recognised for the problem it is.

I have had exactly the same problem, now that I have moved to Norfolk. I started using hospital transport. It is tedious, as a whole day can be taken up, as o ne has to be ready two hours in advance of the appointment and one has to wait for the transport to turn up for collection. But it is free (they should charge a token sum) and the drivers can fetch a wheelchair and take you to the necessary department. Volunteer drivers or taxis cannot do this.

However, the people who run these group transport systems (Not in-house) are getting more and more sticky about taking patients to OPAs. I have had an almighty battle with them and referred the matter to my local MP.

I might be worth a shot.