Agenda item

Mark Fittock (LINk Governor), David Hall (Head of Transport and Development, Kent County Council), Martyn Ayre (Senior Policy Manager, Kent County Council), Karen Thompson (Urgent Care Locality Development Manager, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent), Martine McCahon (Locality Practice-Based Commissioning Manager, NHS West Kent), Kenneth Cobb, Transport Integration Manager, Kent County Council), Andrew Cole (Head of Urgent and Continuing Care, NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent), Patricia Davies, Director of Performance Improvement, NHS West Kent, and Neville Dack, LINk Project Worker.

(1)       Councillor Richard Davison declared an interest in this item as a member of a volunteer transport group.

(2)       Members had before them a progress report of work being undertaken by KCC and the NHS in examining the issue of health and transport and a draft version of the Access (Transport) to Health Services Report by the Kent LINk. 

(3)       On behalf of LINk, Mark Fittock gave an overview of their report, the final version of which is now available on the Kent LINk website, being formally published the day of the meeting.  He explained that transport links into all health areas and that overall Kent had good access going East-West, but was less well served North-South; some villages were more isolated than in the 1930s.  The report had no costings as this was not the function of the report.  It had been submitted to relevant NHS organisations for a formal response.

(4)       On behalf of the KCC and NHS work stream, Martyn Ayre explained that the work began two years previously.  David Hall made the overall point that the work had identified that the issue was not so much a lack of public transport, but a lack of coordination and information, and pointed to the good work coming out of a dial-a-ride pilot in Dover.

(5)       There was a vigorous debate on the topic of car parking charges at hospitals.  Views ranged from those Members who wanted to see free car parking at hospitals, as could be seen in Scotland, and those who pointed to potential unintended consequences of not having fees with people parking there who were not attending the hospital.

(6)       The observation was made that transparency in charging was important if Trusts wished to mitigate criticism and in order to prevent unnecessary delay when arriving at hospital for an appointment, charges upon leaving would be a good first step where this was not already in place.

(7)       Members expressed their concern at the withdrawal of Kickstart funding for improved public transport links between Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, which would facilitate access to the new Pembury Hospital.  However, Mr Hall was able to report that a version of the scheme was being examined in consultation with Arriva and that there may be a need for some initial funding, but with Arriva taking on the full costs of providing the service after three years.

(8)       The role of volunteer drivers was praised, but some Members felt that the process was often bureaucratic and off-putting for potential volunteers.  However, this seemed to vary between organisations.  Returning to the earlier point and information and coordination, it was generally felt that clarity around the eligibility for patient transport services was needed.

(9)       As practical proposals, the notion of running shuttle buses to hospitals from park and ride areas was mooted.  The Thanet Loop, which took patients to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate was praised as an example of good practice.