We did it!
Your campaigning prompted a national review into patient transport services, and the NHS has now taken many of our crucial recommendations on board. Thank you for making it happen.
Your campaigning prompted a national review into patient transport services, and the NHS has now taken many of our crucial recommendations on board. Thank you for making it happen.
Thousands of you told us that you or a loved one really struggle with travelling to your hospital appointments.
For most of us just having a hospital appointment is enough to worry about, but imagine having to make a long and complicated journey alone, in pain and feeling anxious about not getting there in time.
This isn’t good enough, but it doesn’t have to be like this.
Your campaigning pushed this issue to the forefront and forced the NHS to look into the painful journeys that older people are having to make to and from hospital.
Thanks to you, the NHS is going to improve the eligibility criteria for patient transport and make sure people don’t have to wait for hours to get to and from their appointments. They’ve also promised to simplify the travel costs scheme.
We hear from thousands of older people who struggle with travelling to hospital, such as Peter, 79, who had to spend £720 in 18 months on taxis because there's not a direct bus.
Our joint report with Healthwatch looks in-depth at what people tell us about their experiences of travelling to and from NHS services.
Our campaign and policy reports explore the issue and explain why getting to hospital appointments is a major issue for older people.