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Appendix E. Argyll & Clyde Health Board - Lomond Volunteer Transport Project
Background
The project operated in Dumbarton and to a lesser extent, in Clydebank. It was primarily available to individuals who were over 65, without their own transport and who were resident in homes with a Health Board Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation rating of 6-10. However, owing to a lack of referrals, the eligibility criteria was slackened to include frail clients who may not have been resident in the eligible postcode areas and some who may have been under 65.
The project intended to recruit 20 volunteer drivers and achieve 20 interventions a week.
Funding allocation
The pilot was allocated £35,100
Aim(s)
To determine whether a volunteer-staffed patient transportation scheme improved access to healthcare services for socially isolated older people.
Methodology
The project used a mixed design assessing pre and post intervention DNA (did not attend) rates for a podiatry department compared with a control (Alexandria) podiatry department.
A number of qualitative measures were also taken. These were: perceived value of the volunteer transportation service to the users, perceived merit of service to health professionals and experience of volunteering.
Key results
Podiatry DNA rates in the control clinic(s) rose by 1% during the intervention period but declined by 1% in the intervention clinic (Dumbarton).
However, all health professionals who took part in the evaluation of the service felt that it had made it easier for clients to attend appointments. In addition, two further positive outcomes were commented on. These were the reduction in domiciliary visits and the positive effect that verification of transport arrangements had on reminding patients of their impending appointment.
Service users commented that they found the service invaluable as it resulted in financial savings as taxi journeys were no longer required, reduced waiting times when compared with organised patient transport and increased the confidence of service users with mobility problems owing to the assistance provided by volunteers and reduced return waiting time.
The project experienced a number of problems. These included:
- Driver recruitment was problematic as a result of potential driver concerns about insurance costs and wear and tear on their cars. In addition, a similar scheme that ran in Dumbarton experienced problems with the reimbursement of expenses to drivers
- Lack of referrals, possibly as a result of the number of bank staff used being unaware of the service
- Seasonal commitments such as school holiday childcare can affect driver availability
- Inappropriateness of Clydebank as a project site. For example, no control clinic was available for comparison
- Potential beneficiaries were often reluctant to take up the offer. Reasons for this include the existence of alternatives transport for them, stigma associated with receiving the volunteer transport as opposed to using personal transport and wariness of accepting transport from unknown volunteers
Conclusions
The project continually struggled to reach the desired number of referrals per week, indicating that whilst there may be a demand for this form of transportation, the setting for the intervention may have been inappropriate.
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