Hospital logic.

[greekgranny]

Had a quick trip to A&E yesterday, they were brilliant and sorted everything out quickly. When we were discharged I was told DH qualified for hospital transport but I didn't. Given that he has dementia and we live 20 miles from the hospital it wasn't ideal. (He would have become very confused and distressed) I explained the situation to the Manager and that I was my husband registered carer but answer still the same, so we both went in the taxi. (I wasn't after 'owt for nowt!)

[sully301]

Technically if he could get in a taxi and had someone to take him then he wouldn't qualify for free transport. It's only for people that have a disability stopping them using normal transport

[greekgranny]

Originally Posted by sully301

Technically if he could get in a taxi and had someone to take him then he wouldn't qualify for free transport. It's only for people that have a disability stopping them using normal transport

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I would have thought severe Dementia would have counted as a disability as the saying goes "Not all disabilities are evident"

[sully301]

Originally Posted by greekgranny

I would have thought severe Dementia would have counted as a disability as the saying goes "Not all disabilities are evident"

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A disability preventing you from taking normal transport. In this case it didn't

[Gryff]

Knowing the type of dementia OP husband has getting him in a taxi would be challenging to say the least

[jndt]

This is always the case. My fil qualified for transport to hospital for dialysis but mil had to make her own way there.

Saying that they would have had to keep the OP husband in the hospital while she made her way home so he wasn't returning to an empty house as he's vulnerable.

ETA I took the post to say that her husband is entitled to transport but she wasn't so he didn't take the transport and went home with her in the taxi.

[Disney_time]

Your right OP- it does defy logic. How on earth would you have been sure that your public transport method would get you home before the hospital transport arrived so you could open the door for him arriving?

Plus, had you accompanied your husband, it wouldn't have been an extra journey for them anyway

[Geordieprincess]

I’m really surprised to hear this. After my dad had his stroke and was in a wheelchair paralysed down one side him and Mam got the hospital transport whenever he needed to go for an appointment. There was never a suggestion she should meet him there. That would have been a whole new level of stress and complexity for them as someone else said she couldn’t have left home until he did and would’ve need to be home before him.

[sully301]

Originally Posted by Gryff

Knowing the type of dementia OP husband has getting him in a taxi would be challenging to say the least

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The OP didn't say that they struggled in a taxi physically and alluded to hidden disabilities being the problem. The patient transport is probably a mini bus with multiple people so if anything, more stressful?

[Smilesonfaces]

Hospital transport isn’t an on demand service like a taxi. A patient can be waiting up to four hours in our discharge lounge waiting for the transport to be available. Where would the patients companion wait ? There wouldn’t be room in our discharge lounge for both patients and their companions. Patient transport should only really be used if the patient is unable to use any other means of transport.