Rural Community Gateway

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) is proposing to withdraw Non-Emergency Patient Transport from somewhere between 18 and 30% of all users. They claim that this percentage is being booked due to social or geographic, not 'medical need'.

These people are often living in isolated rural communities where at best any bus service is infrequent. They are often elderly and unable to drive. Many are frail and suffer from some sort of disability. How are these people to access healthcare?

The SAS would like to see the voluntary sector picking much of this workload but there is no money on the table to do this and what seems not to be understood is that voluntary services are not free. Many Community Transport operators are already taking people to access healthcare, subsidising this from other funding and it cannot continue.

The Scottish Executive consultation paper 'Draft Guidance on Regional Transport Strategies states that one of its objectives is to "facilitate access to hospitals, clinics, surgeries and other places where a health service is provided".- placing the 'duty' for provision on local authorities.

But who is going to pay?

Voluntary Sector Community Transport Schemes are well placed to serve these clients if SAS will not/cannot do so. However we need pound notes on the table to do the job as vehicles and fuel are not free. Drivers also need to be in paid posts as what is required is a guaranteed service at a specific time, often on a regular basis. Drivers also need to be trained to deal with clients who may be taken ill en-route. It will happen. These people are sufficiently sick to need a health appointment so by definition they are not wholly well.

If the logic of the above is followed, as I believe it must be, the statement in the consultation paper "health boards and public bodies who provide, generate demand or otherwise impact on transport in the region...can be represented on the partnership as members or observers" needs to be amended to include voluntary sector Community Transport providers. We need a seat at the table now to ensure that the needs of rural, isolated people are met.

This consultation also needs to link with the issue of concessionary transport for older people. It is essential that the elderly can get concession fares on Community Transport as well as on public transport as there is often little available and what exists is not fully accessible.

• Privacy
• Help
• Contact Us
• Disclaimer