Breadcrumbs
Transport to heathcare schemes: An untapped resource - 28 September 2004
Transport schemes that help rural people get to hospitals and GP surgeries, bring many extra benefits for patients and can help health and social care providers save public money, according to new Countryside Agency research. But the research, ‘The benefits of providing transport to health-care in rural areas’, published today (Tuesday 28 Sept.) as part of Rural Health Week, found that such schemes have serious problems attracting long-term funding and support, because service providers generally aren’t aware of the contribution they make.
Speaking at the Institute of Rural Health’s AGM Jaki Bayly, Countryside Agency head of transport, said: “Transport is the biggest concern in rural communities according to recent surveys and rural people consistently say that transport to healthcare is the most problematic issue for them. It’s a particular worry for rural people who either can’t drive – often young or elderly people – or can’t afford to run a car.
“Over the past three years the Countryside Agency has funded a variety of transport schemes through Rural Transport Partnerships and Parish Transport Grants to help people get to the services they need. Our research has looked at these schemes, as well as others funded by the health sector and Rural Bus Challenge that help people access healthcare, and found they bring benefits that aren’t provided by current public and patient transport services. These include enabling earlier detection and treatment of conditions such as cancer and diabetes, resulting in better long-term health for patients and reducing the need for and cost of long-term treatment.
“While the schemes tend to charge patients for journeys, they are comparable in price to public transport and much cheaper than taxis. They offer patients in rural areas a tailored, flexible service. Another Countryside Agency study* in the West Midlands found that a fifth of people who used community transport schemes felt they no longer needed home visits from their GP, health worker or care worker, making a saving of nearly £500,000 a year.
“However, transport schemes that help people access healthcare find it extremely hard to attract long-term funding and have difficulties engaging with healthcare providers. We hope that this evidence will show health and social care providers and planners, like Primary Care Trusts and local authorities, how supporting transport can benefit them and their patients/customers and that they will do more to work with and encourage them in the future.”
The research found that benefits generated by transport schemes to healthcare include:
- Helping to free-up hospital beds, which are estimated to cost £300-400 per day;
- Reducing ‘did not attend’ rates for appointments, which cost an average of £65 per appointment missed;
- Encouraging early treatment resulting in improved long-term health for patients and reducing the need for long-term treatment, thus reducing costs;
- Improving patient access to GP services where there are rural branch surgery closures;
- Reducing the need for home visits by helping patients get to surgeries, at an average cost of £40 per visit;
- Reducing stress associated with difficult journeys for people who are unwell;
- Enabling hospital visits by friends and relatives;
- Helping elderly people to stay living at home for longer, benefiting them and making savings for local authority care providers.
Schemes that ‘The benefits of providing transport to health-care in rural areas’ studied include:
- Denton Surgery Bus scheme near Northampton, which is run by Denton Village Surgery and provides a regular, timetabled bus service between local villages and the surgery.
- Newark and Sherwood Voluntary Transport Scheme, a voluntary car scheme which provides transport to hospitals, GP surgeries, dentists and opticians in this rural area, generally for people over 60 and under 16
- The Royal United Hospital Hopper Bus for rural areas surrounding Bath - a demand-responsive taxibus for outpatients and visitors, established by a partnership of Wiltshire County Council, West Wiltshire District Council, North Wiltshire District Council and the Royal United Hospital.
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Notes to editors*Countryside Agency research into the Cross Sector Benefits of Community Transport Initiatives.
Further details of ‘The benefits of providing transport to health-care in rural areas’ and other transport research is available on the Countryside Agency website at www.countryside.gov.uk/essentialservices/transport
The current Countryside Agency is the statutory body working to make the quality of life better for people in the countryside and the quality of the countryside better for everyone. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.