Transport

sonia owen

Registered User
Hi All,

I have to take my 86 mum for a referral appointment concerning the likely hood that she is now suffering from Parkinson. The hospital is about 35 miles away from where we live. Hoping that a family member will be able to take us. If they can't does anyone know if we can get transport help through our GP to get there.
Thanks
Sonia
 

stanleypj

Registered User
Dec 8, 2011
10,712
0
North West
The ambulance service as well as attending for emergencies have a non-urgent service for such appointments. But it's worth knowing that, round here anyway, they take an absurdly long time both collecting and returning a patient, something that is not at all helpful in the case of someone with dementia. Also, I'm not sure how far they will come (or go).

I was very surprised to find, when my wife lost her mobility, that the Parkinson's clinic had no concept of home visits for patients with a movement disorder or dementia. I pestered them so much that we eventually got a visit. But they were only a 10 minute drive away.
 

Onlyme

Registered User
Apr 5, 2010
4,992
0
UK
Around here the transport have been known to turn up to collect the person 50 minutes after the appointment was supposed to happen. If they did turn up we had 1-2 hour wait to get back.
 

Dunkers58

Registered User
Nov 9, 2013
65
0
Hampshire
In our area we have a community car scheme, volunteer drivers, you have to pay, but much less than a taxi. May be worth contacting the surgery to see if there is anything like this available. They will wait for you to finish the appointment .
 

garnuft

Registered User
Sep 7, 2012
6,585
0
Patient Transport Services.

Where I live you ask for the service from your GP, they need 48 hours notice and I would assume that is 48 hours working days notice.

My neighbour uses them.

They do pick you up earlier than your appointment and you may have to travel around collecting other service users.
You may also have to wait a while to be collected again, it can make for a long time out for a short appointment time.

But given the nature of the service, the fact that it's free and supported, it's a lifeline I would be loath to criticise.
Attendance Allowance could be used to finance a taxi if convenience is a priority.
 

Beate

Registered User
May 21, 2014
12,179
0
London
You could try Dial-a-ride. I think they are nationwide now. They are free but they describe themselves more like a bus than a taxi service, meaning you have to be coordinated with other people and might wait a while. In my area they are notoriously unreliable, so even though they are a free service I would probably not want to use them. Our Memory Service employ a free taxi service that works great, but they are the only ones. Probably might be an idea to find out how much a regular prebooked taxi would charge you. Hospital appointments are stressful enough, you don't want added stress through unreliable transport.