- Group home
- You must register/login in order to post into this group.
Andover Shuttle Bus
By: Winchester & Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust
Community engagement, reduction in patient miles, good publicity
24 tonnes (Estimated)
Andover Shuttle Bus is a jointly funded project with Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council, this provides a passenger service between our hospital sites in Andover and Winchester. It is principally aimed at patients who might otherwise have difficulties accessing the full range of health services provided by our Trust due to the lack of public transport links. If capacity allows, visitors to inpatients and staff may also use the service. The service provides 4 pick up/drop off points and maintains journey times within 40 minutes. The saving in terms of patient miles is around 68,000 miles per year.
Andover/Winchester
To remove inequity in accessing healthcare.
Test Valley Borough Council Hampshire County Council AMK Chauffeur Drive Ltd Southampton and Winchester Health Supplies Test Valley Passenger Forum
Funding has been secured to continue the project for a second year commencing September 2009. A revised timetable has been agreed that will provide services later in the afternoon to support patients attending outpatient appointments and visitors to inpatients. A modest fare of £1 per return journey has been introduced to allow the service to become registered for BSOG (bus service operators grant) which allows for a refund on fuel duty to be obtained, reducing the overall cost of the service to the Trust.
Update November 2010:
A modern outpatient facility opened at Andover War Memorial Hospital in March 2010, offering the opportunity to increase and expand the services offered there for local patients, thereby reducing the number of patients who had to travel to Winchester. As a result, passenger numbers during the second year of the project dropped to an average less than 2 per journey and, although this was supplemented by visitor and staff numbers, the service was no longer sustainable in terms of passenger subsidy.
Michael Leggatt, Facilities General Manager, michael.leggatt@wehct.nhs.uk, 01962 824387