Image caption, Noreen Lynch of the Community Transport Association believes a community solution would be more cost-effective than paying for a taxi. Article information Author, Neil McCracken Post, BBC News NI Mid Ulster reporter
7 hours ago
Health organisations in Northern Ireland have spent more than £40 million on patient taxis since 2019.
Around £7 million of the spending relates to dispatching taxis instead of ambulances.
The ambulance service said the “significant costs” were due to cuts to car chauffeur services, where volunteers are paid a mileage allowance to use their own cars to transport patients.
The company said it has seen a “significant decline” in the number of volunteer drivers since the pandemic.
The latest figures have led Stormont ministers and transport groups to call for more cost-effective measures to be considered.
It raises the question of whether nonprofits could be leveraged to do more traveling.
The figures were released in response to a parliamentary question by Coalition MP Kerry Armstrong.
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Funds to pay for taxi fares are used by individual health trusts but come from the Department of Health's budget.
Speaking at a recent Minister's Questions session, Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd said:
“When my executive colleagues look at the costs of providing transport, particularly for health service patients, they see that community transport can play an important role in providing a cost-effective alternative,” he said.
The Department of Health said it has a statutory duty to provide transport to eligible patients for purposes such as taking them home after surgery.
Meanwhile, a group representing taxi drivers said it was important to get patients to appointments “quickly and efficiently”.
Image caption: Patricia Davis uses Community Transit to get to medical appointments.
In rural Northern Ireland, community transport agencies already provide transport for elderly and disabled passengers, but this is not paid for from the health budget.
Rural Community Transport Partnerships across Northern Ireland provide the Dial-a-Lift service and receive £2.3 million a year from the Department for Infrastructure.
They make around 200,000 journeys a year, transporting vulnerable passengers for things like shopping, but a key part of their service is medical appointments.
It has already received funding for the next financial year, but charities representing the region's transport providers are questioning why so much public money is being spent on taxis.
Noreen Lynch, chair of Northern Ireland's Community Transport Association (CTA), said: “We accept that there are shortcomings in public transport infrastructure and that taxis are sometimes needed, but we need to examine closely whether allocating £40 million for a taxi service is the most cost-effective use of Department of Health funding.”
“Unfortunately, community transport has been excluded from the current tender process with the Health and Social Care Trust. We believe community transport could be a solution to provide accessible transport in a cost-effective way.”
Image caption: Patricia Davis worked as a nurse for over 40 years
Patricia Davis lives in the countryside just outside Dungannon, County Tyrone.
She worked as a nurse for nearly 40 years but had to retire due to health reasons.
After poor circulation caused wounds in her legs, she underwent bypass surgery, but ultimately complications meant she had to have one of her legs amputated.
She now uses a prosthetic leg and occasionally a wheelchair.
“I loved going to the gym, I was always very independent, I loved driving and now I've lost all of that,” she said.
“I really miss it, especially now that I have so many hospital appointments to attend.”
Patricia regularly uses the local community transport service to get to scheduled medical appointments.
“Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without it. It's my lifeline.”
“Not only do they take me to my local appointments, but they also take me into Belfast if I need to go to a city hospital.”
Commenting on public taxi spending, she said: “It really surprises me how high the expenditure is.”
“Of course, people have to go to medical appointments, but I've never heard of that or been offered a ride fare, so I've relied on community transport.”
“Non-emergency situations”
Each medical trust has its own policy on who is covered under the Medical Travel Expense Scheme.
Eligibility criteria may include patients receiving certain benefits or having received a referral for specialty care from a health care professional.
Regarding the use of taxis instead of ambulances, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said this was for non-urgent situations.
Image caption: Almost £7 million spent sending taxis to patients instead of ambulances
The spokesman added: “NIAS's primary objective is to ensure patients receive timely, reliable and safe transport to their medical appointments, and our significant expenditure on taxi services reflects our commitment to meeting this need.”
“However, we recognise the importance of exploring more cost-effective and sustainable solutions, especially in these challenging economic times.”
The Association of Licensed Taxi Operators says its members make around 6,000 to 8,000 taxi trips a week to medical appointments.
“On first impression £40 million over five years seems like a significant amount, and it is,” the organisation's Northern Ireland spokesman, Stephen Anton, said.
“When considered on an annual basis, and factoring in a slightly higher fare per trip to reflect the extra time and care required by many medical patients, it represents good value when calculated against the number of trips completed.”
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