Who can travel on hospital transport?
Transport can only be authorised by hospital doctors or your GP (General Practitioner) for those patients whose medical condition prevents them from using their own or public transport and do not have any relatives or friends to help them.
Patients must also be:
Booked to attend one of our outpatient clinics or other departments for tests
Booked for admission or discharge
Booked for day case treatment
Please do not request transport unless it is on the grounds of medical need.
We cannot accept transport requests for social reasons or because the journey is long or inconvenient.
How do we define ‘medical need’?
To make sure that transport is being used appropriately and efficiently, each request is assessed individually against a set of specific criteria.
To travel on hospital transport you will need to satisfy at least one of the following:
Your condition could deteriorate with little or no warning
You are unable to walk and your doctor says you are not mobile enough to use public or private transport
You are having a course of treatment and your doctor says that you will not be able to travel home by public or private transport
Your doctor feels that you need the presence of a second ambulance person because of your medical condition
Information we need from you
If your request for transport has been approved we will need the following information from you to make a booking:
Your hospital number (which is printed on your appointment card)
A contact telephone number where you can be reached
Information that may help the transport driver such as if you live in a high tower block that does not have a lift, if you are hard of hearing or have other special needs. Please let us know if stretchers and/or wheelchairs will be difficult to manoeuvre because of stairs/doorframes etc. (if you need these)
The name of the consultant and department you are going to attend
Relatives and carers on hospital transport
Please remember that it costs the hospital the same amount of money for a relative or carer to travel on hospital transport with you as it does to transport another patient. Therefore we can only provide transport for a relative/carer to travel with you if you are likely to need help during the journey.
All requests for a relative/carer to travel with you must be authorised by a hospital doctor or GP. If you are admitted to hospital, your relative/carer will be responsible for making his/her own return travel arrangements.
Waiting at home
Please be ready for your transport when it arrives otherwise you and other patients sharing the transport may be late for appointments.
Please remember to bring the following with you:
We will do our best to collect you so that you arrive within 30 minutes of your appointment time. Please do not worry if there is a delay as our staff will make arrangements for you to be seen when you arrive.
If you would like the transport driver to contact the department you are attending to let them know of any delays, please let him or her know.
In clinic
When you arrive please let the clinic staff know that you are a transport patient. Staff will do their best to arrange for you to be seen as a priority. This is particularly important if you are due to have several tests or investigations.
Waiting to go home
Please report to the main transport desk in the hospital or to the receptionist in the area that you are attending.
Please let the staff know that you are waiting to go home using hospital transport.
Please be aware that you may be travelling home with other patients. You may have to wait until those patients have finished their tests or are ready for discharge. This may mean there is a delay between the time you are ready and the time the transport leaves.
These delays are unavoidable but we will do out best to make sure that your wait is kept to a minimum.
Cancellations
If you are unable to attend an appointment or have made other arrangements to get to hospital, please cancel the transport by calling:
Royal Brompton Hospital transport
020 7351 8012 or 020 7352 8121 ext. 4040
Monday to Friday 8.30 am – 5 pm
Harefield Hospital transport
01895 828 805
Monday to Friday 9 am – 5 pm
We are charged for any cancellations that are made less than 24 hours before the time of travel.
Please let the appointments office know if you will not be attending your appointment as it can then be given to someone else.
Transport companies
We expect high standards of safety, courtesy, care and consideration from the companies we use to provide transport services.
If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service please let us know by contacting: Patient Transport Services Manager Telephone: 020 7352 8121 and asking for extension 4455 or bleep 7277, which will leave a message for the manager to ring you back.
You can download the information on this page as a PDF leaflet below.
