Local patient transport service is horrendous. When you phone to arrange an appt you get someone in Glasgow who has no idea where places are in rural Scotland, let alone how challenging the roads can be with livestock & tourists!! They also have no idea about the terrible public transport network that leaves people stranded miles from home because their appt time doesn't coincide with any bus or train. There have been not infrequent occasions where requests to discharge a patient have been denied & the patient left in a hospital bed because the local ambulance crew has been taken to the DGH 100 miles away to discharge patients from there. There have also been incidences where patients have been delayed in hospital because the hospital is unable to book transport for the next day so potentially having patients' in for an extra 4 days if they have no one to collect them.
Hospitals offer appointments that you cannot possibly make because you are reliant on SAS patient transport from a remote rural area where they work set shift hours. When you tell the hospital this, they have no understanding, or patience, and cancel your appointment then offer another similar one which you cannot attend again for the same reasons. Local SAS patient transport say they can only get you to the hospital by a certain time (e.g. by 11 am) and that you must finish your appointment by a certain time (e.g. 2pm) or they cannot take you. The destination hospital has no understanding of this and shows no willingness to understand, therefore they cancel your appointment and you go to the bottom of the waiting list again. 😡
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