Hands Transport Service

Every year, Medway Volunteer Centre Medway helps thousands of people attend their medical appointment and support groups.

This is particularly important for people with mobility issues where getting public transport is difficult. Our service is cheaper than a taxi and runs with the help of local volunteers, who provide a caring and professional service for people living in postcode areas ME1, ME2, ME3, ME4, and ME5. All our driver have an enhanced DBS check and have car insurance that covers volunteer driving.

Our Criteria:

• Over 70 years old
• Under 70 (but over 18) with a registered disability or serious health problems which limits your ability to travel on public transport
• If you are attending cancer treatment and are over 18
• Attending an eye appointment where you are unable to travel back alone or drive due to impaired vision and have no one else to help you home (these are open to everyone over 18 years of age as a one off appointment)

For all other queries please contact our office where our staff can see if we can take you at our managers discretion.

How the Scheme Works:

When you receive an appointment, you can call the Medway Volunteer Centre Transport Desk (01634 380 030) to place a transport request.

Our Office Transport Volunteers then find a driver close to where you live from our list of Volunteer Drivers and book your transport. We then ring you to inform you of your driver’s name and what time they will pick you up.

On the day the volunteer driver will pick you up at the arranged time in their car and drive you to your appointment, our drivers can help you get to your department if you need any assistance, including if you need a wheelchair (hospital wheelchair).

Our driver will then wait for your appointment to finish and make sure you get home safely.

In cases where you have an appointment which is more than 2 hours or a minor operation appointment our driver will leave you at the hospital in the department and they will be contacted by the hospital staff when you are ready to be discharged and our driver will take you home.

FAQs

How much does it cost?

All our drivers are volunteers using their own cars and we charge 45p a mile to cover the petrol cost for your journey.

We also charge a £3 Administration fee which goes to the office to help with the cost of the telephone line and expenses for our office volunteers who arrange the transport.

You may have to pay for parking if you are attending an appointment in a hospital or centre which charges for parking, our drivers can advise you on parking tickets.

All payments are to be made in cash on the day to the driver.

How much notice do you need?

We need at least 3 working days notice, ideally more. The longer we have to arrange a driver for you the more likely we are to find a driver.

We can never guarantee a driver for your appointment however we do try our best.

What happens if I need to cancel my Appointment?

Please give as much notice as you can, so where possible we can allocate the driver to another journey.

We do understand that in some cases it maybe a last minute cancellation due to ill health.

We do reserve the right in some situations to charge clients if not enough time was give for cancellation.

What information we need for a transport request:

• Your name, address and date of birth
• Your appointment details, date, time, location
• How long your appointment is expected to be (if more than 2 hours the letter usually will say)
• If you will be accompanied
• If you have any walking aids, such as walking sticks, frames, wheelchair
• If you can get in and out of the car unaided
• If you are a disabled parking badge (blue badge) holder
• Any other relevant information regarding your health or mobility issues for the journey

Our transport desk is open:

Monday to Friday

9:30am – 12:30pm

01634 380 030