Elderly struggling to get to hospital appointments

‘I WAIT UP TO SIX HOURS TO BE TAKEN HOME FROM CHEMOTHERAPY’

LINDA Eggleden, 75, often has to wait up to six hours to be taken back to her home after chemotherapy at her local hospital.

Stroke victim Mrs Eggleden, who lives with her invalid husband Robin, 81, in Lincs, was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer, meaning she has to travel to hospital several times a month for chemotherapy.

Problems with the transport service are making the journeys a nightmare. Poor planning and bad communication are just some of the issues causing her stress.

She said: “The journey to hospital takes about 35 minutes if you drive straight there. But with hospital transport it is completely varied.

“I have almost missed a chemo appointment because of transport issues. What’s horrible is when you don’t know what’s happening, no one tells you anything and you end up feeling abandoned.

“The other night after the latest really long wait, I said I couldn’t do it anymore, that I wasn’t going to keep any more appointments.

“I’ve had enough. It’s too stressful. It’s not an acceptable situation and something needs to change.” deserves. When older people can get to and from hospital easily it makes a really big difference to them.”

Many older people have no option but to rely on public transport to get to their hospital appointments, which can mean difficult and uncomfortable journeys, sometimes involving two or three changes of buses.

Transport provided by local health services is often of patchy quality and poorly co-ordinated services in many areas mean that, despite feeling very unwell, older people are picked up hours before their appointment and left waiting alone for hours until they are collected for their return journey.

Patients are often unable to travel with a companion which can be very distressing for an older person, particularly if they are in a wheelchair or have dementia, according to the report.

The Department for Transport said: “Our Accessibility Action Plan consultation received over 1,000 responses which the Department is carefully considering.

“The Department will publish its response to the consultation as well as its Inclusive Transport Strategy later this year.”