- Conference
- 2007 Retired Members' Conference
- Date
- 13 June 2007
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
Conference notes that pensioners who are sent to hospital long distances from their homes are being denied hospital transport.
Large parts of the country have no direct public transport to hospitals, forcing some pensioners to pay as much as £100 return taxi fare to attend a hospital appointment.
Even pensioners needing chemotherapy treatment for cancer are denied free hospital transport.
National Health Service treatment is supposed to be free at the point of need. If the hospital is many miles away from your home your need is not being met.
Conference calls on the National Executive Council to make representation to the Government
1)to ensure that pensioners receive free hospital transport if the hospitals used are more than five miles from their home;
2)make it mandatory on public authorities to ensure that accessible public transport is in place to enable pensioners to make full use of their free bus passes to get to all National Health Service appointments and facilities.
3)to ensure that when pensioners attend hospital for urgent, necessary treatment using their own motorcar or driven by someone else, arrangements are made to refund any parking charges.