In brief: Islanders with mobility problems say they have been left stranded after hospital treatment, unable to access the non-emergency patient transport service. Health and Care Jersey insists the service is reserved for those who are medically unfit to travel by any other means. Critics argue the policy is failing vulnerable patients on one of the wealthiest islands in the world.
Left at the door
John Heys is 88 years old, lives alone, and in September broke his ankle in two places. He needed an operation, spent several days in hospital, and when the time came to go home, he says he was simply told there was no transport available. The BBC reports that Heys described the situation as “an absolute disgrace”, noting that neither he nor a fellow patient who had just had a hip replacement could walk, yet both were expected to make their own way home.
Heys ended up taking a taxi, which he said was difficult to get in and out of. His frustration goes beyond his own experience. “To turn around and to say to people who cannot walk that there’s no transport for them on an island that is one of the richest places in the world is an absolute disgrace,” he told the BBC, adding that Jersey’s ageing population means demand for this kind of support will only grow.
A second patient, Mandy Bisson, 62, had a similarly dispiriting experience after breaking her ankle. She told the BBC she asked for patient transport because she could not walk to the bus stop and could not afford a taxi. She says she was initially turned away and came close to missing her appointment altogether.
What the service actually covers
Health and Care Jersey has set out its position clearly, if not entirely sympathetically. In a statement, the service said eligibility for non-emergency patient transport is “determined by a clinician, based on patient’s needs and individual circumstances.” The service is intended for patients who are “medically unfit to travel by any other means” and have no alternative options, including those who need to travel in a wheelchair or cannot walk without the continual support of another person or a walking aid.
The statement adds that patients who can make their own arrangements, “including asking relatives and friends for support or using public transport and taxis, should do so.” Health and Care Jersey says this approach is designed to protect capacity for the most vulnerable, and asks the public to “use the service responsibly and only request patient transport when they meet the eligibility criteria.”
The service covers transport to and from hospital for appointments, admissions, discharges and transfers.
A gap between policy and reality
The cases reported by the BBC raise an uncomfortable question: if a patient cannot walk unaided following surgery or a serious fracture, do they not meet the criteria? The official eligibility language refers to those who “cannot walk without the continual support of another person or walking aid,” which would appear to describe both Heys and Bisson. Yet both say they were refused or nearly refused.
There is no suggestion from the source material that Health and Care Jersey has reviewed these specific cases or acknowledged any error in how they were handled. The organisation’s public response focuses on the principle of the policy rather than addressing the individual circumstances described.
For Jersey residents, particularly older islanders living alone or those on limited incomes, the practical gap between what the policy says and what patients experience at the point of discharge is a real concern. Taxi fares in Jersey are not trivial, public transport is not always accessible for someone on crutches, and not everyone has family nearby to call upon.
Source: BBC News
