The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New volunteer-led patient transport service for Fife
Help for dialysis patients of Queen Margaret Hospital
A volunteer-led patient transport service has been launched in Fife.
St John Scotland confirmed it will transport patients who require dialysis to and from their appointments at the renal clinic in Dunfermline’s Queen Margaret Hospital following referrals.
Completely run by volunteers, the service is seen as critical in ensuring patients can arrive safely and on time for their all-important dialysis appointments, which can last up to five hours.
St John Scotland has provided patient transport services to the NHS in other areas of Scotland for nearly 20 years, and already runs in Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Dumfries and Galloway.
The new service for Fife should help meet the demand for patient transport across the region, and has been warmly welcomed by those involved.
NHS Fife director of nursing Helen Wright said: “NHS Fife prides itself on offering patients the best possible care, and this is about more than just providing the most effective treatments – it is about making the whole patient experience as easy as we possibly can.”
The initial patient transport team in Fife consists of volunteer drivers Roland Robertson, Chris Cooke, Andrew Playle and driver assistant 18-year-old Caitlyn Dudgeon, but the St John Scotland team in Fife are keen to bring on more volunteer drivers as the scheme progresses.
Across Scotland, the service transports around 150 people annually, with more than 500 patient journeys each year, covering more than 40,000 miles.
All passengers are referred to St John Scotland’s patient transport teams by the Scottish Ambulance Service or NHS clinic, and volunteer drivers collect passengers from their homes, taking them to the clinic and returning them home after the treatment.
Lawson Rennie, of St John Scotland Fife committee, said: “Dialysis is a lifesaving treatment, and patients must attend hospital several times a week for many hours at a time.
“Getting to and from hospital can be challenging and expensive, but we hope that our completely free, volunteer-led service will alleviate some pressure.
“We are keen to recruit more volunteer drivers to the scheme, and would encourage anyone who is interested to contact us.”
Anyone interested in becoming a patient transport volunteer driver in Fife, who is aged 25 to 70 and who holds a full driving licence, can email info@stjohnscotland.org.uk.
We are keen to recruit more volunteer drivers to the scheme, and would encourage anyone who is interested to contact us. LAWSON RENNIE