The use of publicly-funded non-essential on-island patient transport has risen sharply over the last four years, according to the government.

In 2017, almost 500 journeys to and from medical appointments were provided and by 2020 the number had jumped to almost 8,700.

A consultation has opened to create eligibility criteria for people who want to use the non-emergency patient transport services (NEPTS) in the future.

NEPTS was designed to help people who are unable to make their own way to a healthcare appointment because of a medical condition, with transport provided between the person’s home and the facility they are attending.

The service can also take people home after they’ve been discharged from hospital or other NHS care if they can’t make alternative arrangements.

Due to the use of this service having increased, along with the cost of running the service, the consultation aims to find out what is causing the rise in demand, who uses the service and why, and what sort of eligibility criteria there should be.

Minister for Health and Social Care Lawrie Hooper (pictured) said: ’The department is committed to providing an on-island patient transport service for those who need it. To ensure that we can continue to deliver this service in a sustainable way, we need to better understand current users and why we have seen such an increase in people seeking to use the service.

’By adopting eligibility criteria we will ensure that patients who cannot use other forms of transport to get to their appointments can be assured of a reasonable, fair and responsive service.

’We want to hear a wide range of views to understand the needs of service users which will in turn help us develop these criteria. I urge everyone with a view, comment or suggestion on this topic to take part.’

The document explains the background and sets out some proposals for new eligibility criteria for people with significant needs. These are grouped under four headings:

l the person has an assessed, severe medical need

l the person has a cognitive or sensory impairment

l the person has a severe mobility need

l the person attends for specific medical treatment two or more times per week

The document also sets out proposals for eligibility criteria for escorts, parents and carers of those who use patient transport services.

This consultation is open to everyone, whether or not they or a loved one currently uses patient transport and it is open until February 7, 2022.

The department will consider the responses before finalising its eligibility criteria for the island’s non-emergency patient transport service, with a target for implementation of April 2022.