Transport to & from hospital?

Indie_Kid

I have been referred to the eye infirmary; after requesting that I go to one closer to uni. (I am at uni more than home)

The hospital I've been referred to, involves having to travel and it's not an area I know well at all - have only been to that aprticular area once.

I am not able to drive, can't cope on public transport in strange places and can't handle travelling first thing in the morning.

How do I go about getting transport to & from hospital? I have no-one who can go with me; else I would've asked them to help me out. (i am 200 miles away from home)

Tally-Ho_2

Hi,

Try ringing the hospitals PALS (Patient advice and liasion service) at the hospital and they should be able to advise you on any transport available.

Tally

dmg24

Tally-Ho wrote: »

Hi,

Try ringing the hospitals PALS (Patient advice and liasion service) at the hospital and they should be able to advise you on any transport available.

Tally

Yep, they may be able to arrange hospital transport for you. However, you should be aware that this may turn a quick outing into a whole day, as you will be picked up/ returned home according to their schedule, not yours.

McKneff

dmg24 wrote: »

Yep, they may be able to arrange hospital transport for you. However, you should be aware that this may turn a quick outing into a whole day, as you will be picked up/ returned home according to their schedule, not yours.

This is quite true, a friend of mine had a 1.30pm appointment, they came to pick her up at 11am and she eventually got home at 5.30 and the hospital was only 20 mins drive away.

Indie_Kid

dmg24 wrote: »

Yep, they may be able to arrange hospital transport for you. However, you should be aware that this may turn a quick outing into a whole day, as you will be picked up/ returned home according to their schedule, not yours.

Didn't realise this. Would attempt public transport (am ok after I'e woken up properly) but may need eye drops in; which causes problems. (It is generally advisable to have someone with me if I've had them put in)

Ruby_Moon

sh1305 wrote: »

Didn't realise this. Would attempt public transport (am ok after I'e woken up properly) but may need eye drops in; which causes problems. (It is generally advisable to have someone with me if I've had them put in)

I know the eye drops that you mean and you will be perfectly ok on the bus/train.
If you are that worried about it, get a Taxi.

BRIANCARSON

While its true ' you will be picked up / returned home according to their schedule ' I did spot one person who managed to get around their system.

I was having daily Radiotherapy for eight weeks but there was a few people who only had to attend weekly and one of them was a female who flew in from a unknown Country to Stanstead Airport - each week they used to book a taxi who picked her up drove her to North Middlesex Hospital {near the A406/A10 } and on arrival she was treated straight away - so she was in and out within fifteen minuets - she would then get in the same taxi and be driven back to Stanstead Airport.

What none of the other patients could work out is why she was being picked up in the first place as she was able to walk unaided.

We were unable to find out which Country she lived in or why she was being treated by a London Hospital with a long waiting list.

While all that was going on the Hospital changed their Policy on who qualified for transport but it only affected new patients.

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I agree with others that the first port of call is the PALS unit who are fantastic help.

For anyone who has never used PALS - check out this site

http://www.pals.nhs.uk/

hermanmunster_3

BRIANCARSON wrote: »

While its true ' you will be picked up / returned home according to their schedule ' I did spot one person who managed to get around their system.

I was having daily Radiotherapy for eight weeks but there was a few people who only had to attend weekly and one of them was a female who flew in from a unknown Country to Stanstead Airport - each week they used to book a taxi who picked her up drove her to North Middlesex Hospital {near the A406/A10 } and on arrival she was treated straight away - so she was in and out within fifteen minuets - she would then get in the same taxi and be driven back to Stanstead Airport.

What none of the other patients could work out is why she was being picked up in the first place as she was able to walk unaided.

We were unable to find out which Country she lived in or why she was being treated by a London Hospital with a long waiting list.

While all that was going on the Hospital changed their Policy on who qualified for transport but it only affected new patients.

---

I agree with others that the first port of call is the PALS unit who are fantastic help.

For anyone who has never used PALS - check out this site

http://www.pals.nhs.uk/

Was she a private patient and hence paying for it the treatment / flights / transport?

Indie_Kid

I have to go back there again now. Getting there isn't a problem. (it's a couple of 100m from the tube station) However, getting home will be. I have to have drops put in again (last time, they made my eyes blurry and me very unsteady on my feet - I felt as though I was drunk ) and will be having a visual field test done - this invovles bright lights which can hurt my eyes / head a lot.

Does anyone know if the NHS low income scheme pay for taxis? I have no-one I can go with and it won't be safe coming home at all.

BRIANCARSON

sh1305 wrote: »

I have to go back there again now. Getting there isn't a problem. (it's a couple of 100m from the tube station) However, getting home will be. I have to have drops put in again (last time, they made my eyes blurry and me very unsteady on my feet - I felt as though I was drunk ) and will be having a visual field test done - this invovles bright lights which can hurt my eyes / head a lot.

Does anyone know if the NHS low income scheme pay for taxis? I have no-one I can go with and it won't be safe coming home at all.

To sh1305

Your still best to contact the local PALS unit - in my case I was able to claim for fares paid but I am sure I could have got the money in advance .
They had a cash office where I took my proof of earnings and my ID .

One thing is certain - if you don't ask you will never get anywhere

Good luck

==========================

To hermanmunster

I did not mention flights as we presume she was paying for them herself - all the other patients were NHS patients so we presume she was from a EU Country but she was in and out so quickly we never got the chance to speak to her.

There is a few ways that people can be seen quicker { having been treated for the past two years with Cancer I could write a book about them }
If a patient ticks they don't speak English the Hospital will have a interpreter waiting and in those cases they are seen quickly by the Consultant as the interpreter is paid by the hour.

On a normal day there would be two times where the interpreter was waiting but the patient for unknown reasons did not show up.

While the treatment phase does not have any major delays the same cannot be said while you are waiting to be seen by a Consultant.

I am being seen by three separate Hospitals and they all have delays between two to three hours when seeing a Consultant - its highly frustrating when non English patient are able to jump the queue in this way.

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I was lucky as I was able to make my way to the Hospital { two bus's each way } but I did speak to others who had to hang about for Hospital transport and they did have a long wait.

Glyndwr_2

As you've mentioned tube, I assume you're at Uni in London. Google something like "[name of hospital] patient transport". If you're going to Moorfields look here. For them you'll need a letter. Some hospitals require you to ring a number & they'll do a phone assessment, others require your consultant to request it (if so, phone his/her secretary). Transport used to be assessed & booked by GPs, but hospitals do it now. Here is one flowchart I found. I'm sure St Thomas's in London used to do a clear leaflet to follow, but I've Googled & can't find it now.

My hospital transport varies significantly depending on the hospital. I can be picked up 10 minutes before an appointment (therefore I'm late) or 3 hours before (longer if the hospital is in a different county). I can also go back immediately after being seen, or wait 2 hours to be picked up & then spend over an hour and a half being ferried around before being dropped off. I am frequently out for a very long day. Even though I'm not physically doing anything I'm often exhausted & uncomfortable.

On the plus side, using their transport does usually mean I get seen quickly by the consultant (but normal waits for anything else like scans, xrays, blood tests).

Hospital transport also means you have your appointment times restricted as they only operate between certain hours.

I have also found that when I was referred to a London Hospital I could not get transport (& ended up having to cancel the referal) because I did not qualify. The reason being that, despite fitting all the other criteria, I did not have a Taxicard. Having found out what one was, I went back to them as told them definately not available in my area, so could I be assessed again. I still got a point blank no because I didn't have something that I couldn't get in my area. Untimately this has cost the NHS a lot more as I ended up getting the same sort of treatment but spread over a number of hospitals in different counties each of which provide transport rather than just the 1 place.

NHS LIS does not allow for taxis except where for example public transport does not exist & it has to be agreed in advance). They pay for the cheapest form of public transport, then car mileage (anything from 11-35p in my experience and they may or may not refund parking). Most London Hospitals do not refund the Congestion Charge (all that I've looked at). If you require an escort then their fare may be refunded as well. This will also need to be agreed & some hospitals require you to have authorisation for each journey. Again if you're going to Moorfields look here as there is some info re visual impairments so you may be able to qualify on occasions.

Is there any Voluntary driver transport in your area you could use?