Patients left stranded and forced to take public transport to hospital appointments

Patients with mobility issues have been left stranded with no way of getting to and from their hospital appointments, according to a review.

Every weekday, more than 20,000 people use NHS non-emergency patient transport services to get to appointments, operations and services such as dialysis.

But a review by Healthwatch, the patient watchdog, revealed transport services across the country are sometimes cancelled at the last minute or patients are told they do not meet the requirements for transport.

Wheelchair user John Nye told The Independent he had to pay almost £100 for a wheelchair accessible taxi to get to and from his operation in June. The appointment was at 7am but patient transport was unable to take him before 8.30am.

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Source: The Independent, 17 December 2025