Home / Health / NHS Patient Transport Fails: Patients Stranded
NHS Patient Transport Fails: Patients Stranded
17 Dec, 2025
Summary
- Patient transport services are sometimes cancelled last minute.
- Patients are told they don't meet the requirements for transport.
- Elderly and disabled patients face significant transport challenges.
Non-emergency patient transport services, crucial for over 20,000 people daily, are facing significant issues. Healthwatch investigations reveal frequent last-minute cancellations and eligibility rejections, leaving vulnerable patients stranded. An 82-year-old wheelchair user incurred nearly £100 for an accessible taxi after patient transport failed to arrive in time for his operation.
Similar difficulties affect those with urgent medical needs. An 80-year-old woman was left without transport home after a six-day hospital stay, despite being unable to walk far. Dialysis patients, like a 52-year-old man, endure cancelled appointments and two-hour journeys due to shared transport, impacting their life-sustaining treatment.
Advocacy groups like Kidney Care UK and Age UK report transport as a major concern for patients. The services are described as "not fit for purpose" and are perceived to be rationed, detrimentally affecting older and disabled individuals' ability to reach vital appointments, sometimes altogether.
