Entitled to free hospital transport?

MarcJ88

Hi.

Not sure if this is the right place for such a thread. My wife and I live in Durham and she's just been sent to London on a random Wednesday morning to chat with a consultant.

They couldn't have picked a more inconvenient time but it's been a long, long wait.

Can't go down on the Tuesday night because transport/accommodation prices are painful but it's too early for a Wednesday morning journey.

Can we claim for financial help here? Neither of us are on benefits.

sammyjammy

Can you do it via video call?  have you explained the difficulties to them or tried to change the time of the appointment?

Andy_L

Non-emergency patient transport servicesSome people are eligible for non-emergency patient transport services (PTS). These services provide free transport to and from hospital for people including:
those whose condition means they need additional medical support during their journeythose who find it difficult to walkparents or guardians of children who are being transportedPTS may not be available in all areas. To find out if you're eligible for PTS and how to access it, you'll need to speak to your GP or the healthcare professional who referred you to hospital.
Claiming for hospital transport costsYou may be able to claim for the cost of transport to hospital through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) if you're referred for specialist NHS treatment or tests.
Read more about the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS), including who's eligible, what the conditions are and how to make a claim.
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/hospitals/going-into-hospital/how-to-organise-transport-to-and-from-hospital/

Robin9

Can you contact the Consultant's Secretary - perhaps change to an afternoon appointment ?

Brie

Have you checked if there are any work related organisations that might be willing to assist?  Unions too sometimes. If you give a few work details someone might have some ideas.  

Nasqueron

Could you go down Tuesday night and stay outside the centre on a train route and get in that way or is the cost of overnight simply too high full stop? Could you split the journey to stop and drive the next day?