My 50-mile bus trip to the doctor four miles away

Hundreds of patients in Cumbria have cancelled health appointments because transport issues prevented them getting there, according to a watchdog.

Kate Rees, assistant head of service for Healthwatch in Cumbria and Lancashire, said a lack of public transport and inconvenient appointment times contributed to the problem.

Fen Watson, from Bowness-on-Solway, said she had to take a "ridiculous" 50-mile round trip by bus to get to and from her GP surgery which is just four miles away.

Bus operator Stagecoach said timetables aimed to achieve the "best balance" possible between different passengers' needs.

Watson, who no longer drives, said her GP practice sits four miles away in Kirkbride.

The bus that runs there from her home village only stops at both places a few times a day and never at times that allow her to get there and back.

She therefore takes a bus to Carlisle and gets a connection to Kirkbride and must return to Carlisle again on the way home.

"I hadn't realised that what I'm doing is actually a 50-mile round trip, which seems ridiculous," she said.

Tom Waterhouse, managing director of Stagecoach Cumbria and Lancashire, said its timetables aimed to achieve "the best balance we can" between the needs of different passengers.

He also said the company ran services aimed at getting people to medical facilities.

A report on transport to healthcare facilities by Healthwatch Westmorland and Furness said of 540 people who shared their experiences, 40% had cancelled appointments because they could not get there.

Rees said Healthwatch planned to do a similar piece of research in Cumberland, where Watson lives.

"People feel the bus services for example are not reliable enough to use them to get to an appointment," she said.

The report also raised concerns about NHS patient transport and the availability of accessible taxis for disabled people.

It recommended more transport routes to health centres, mobile medical services and greater awareness of transport needs among healthcare staff.

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