Hospital shuttle bus to help patients

Travelling from Solihull Hospital to Heartlands is to get easier for patients as plans to have a shuttle bus between the sites looks set to go ahead.

Bosses at the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Good Hope, Solihull and Heartlands Hospitals, confirmed plans to bring in a new inter-site bus service to allow patients an easier way to get to other Trust sites.

Patients and campaigners, which includes Solihull’s Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Julian Knight, have hailed this news a success.

Mr Knight raised concerns over the potential pain and embarrassment caused to patients with urology related conditions when they were being moved from Solihull to Sutton Coldfield to hospital bosses in the autumn.

He said: “After months of pressure, HEFT appears to be listening and taking action so to ease the transport burden for all patients but for those suffering from urology conditions in particular. If these proposals get the green light it should mean a far easier and quicker transportation for patients between the three main hospitals which serve Solihull.”

Matthew Cooke, Deputy Medical Director Strategy and Transformation at the Trust, said: “As part of the public consultation over the Trust’s surgery reconfiguration plans transport between sites has been consistently raised as an important issue for service users.

“As a result of the feedback we have received we are looking at a range of options including a new inter-site shuttle bus service and we will continue to investigate that possibility as the feedback is reviewed.”

Read more: http://www.solihullobserver.co.uk/2015/02/12/news-Hospital-bus-to-help-patients-126249.html