Argyll and Bute Council
The Executive offered Argyll and Bute Council £29,532 in 2004-05, £27,948 in 2005-06 and £28,777 in 2006-07 for work towards a sustainable transport solution in Argyll and Bute, maximising use of existing vehicles already in use by public agencies, in partnership with NHS Argyll and Clyde, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Association of Scottish Community Councils. It built on research undertaken by Napier University during 2003 funded through the Rural Challenge Fund. Because of the time taken to appoint the community transport officer to run the project, it ran for 3 years from September 2004.
The project sought to promote public transport through local media, travel guides and local transport action forums; fill public transport gaps with cost effective and innovative solutions; retain population within the remote Argyll and Bute areas; reduce energy use by increased utilisation of existing vehicles and reduction of car journeys; benefit tourists through increased opportunities for using public transport; and create a blueprint for inter-agency working. There was a project steering group with a community representative from each study area and one representative from each of the partner agencies, with contact with local groups to identify current arrangements.
Targets included a minimum reduction of 500 unnecessary journeys per year and bringing together various bodies in order to provide a half hourly service to the new Mid Argyll hospital, 1.2 miles from Lochgilphead town centre.
A database was created of existing vehicle journeys of project partners - to show duplicate or unnecessary journeys undertaken. However, the target of reducing 500 journeys per year could not be achieved because of barriers to joining up organisations and clients to provide one transport resource.
A working group considered bus services to the new Mid Argyll Hospital, opened in 2006, and examined funding opportunities. Argyll and Bute Council were successful in their application for Bus Route Development Grant to establish a half hourly bus service to the new hospital. Timetables and guides on the new service prepared with project partners promoted the service to users and staff across their respective organisations. By October 2007 the number of people using the service from Ardrishaig and Lochgilphead via the hospital had increased by 30 per cent since June 2006. The photo on the right shows the bus service at the new Mid Argyll Hospital.
Forums were set up in Bute, on Islay and Jura and in North Argyll. There was work on a car sharing scheme on Colonsay.
The Islay and Jura Transport Forum - with members from the community council, transport operators, service users, medical professionals and the British Red Cross - wholly supported the project. The Forum considered how to improve community engagement, and demonstrated their ability to resolve island transport issues through partnership working and resourcefulness. The group considered travel to and from hospital appointments on the mainland, integration of the ferry, bus and plane on the island, and Scottish Ambulance Service non-emergency patient transport. The patient journey from the islands to the mainland improved considerably, both by air and ferry. The photo on the left shows the new low floor bus on Islay waiting for the ferry to dock.
Patients discharged from hospital returning to Islay by plane face the prospect of delayed or cancelled flights due to weather. The Islay and Jura Forum investigated the patient journey and developed the idea of a Patient Transport Coordinator to ensure a seamless journey to appointments. The Forum successfully applied for Whelk Leader+ (European Funding Stream) for partial funding to employ a Patient Transport Coordinator on a one-year pilot project and NHS Highland also partially fund the post, started in 2007.
The Bute Transport Forum started by identifying gaps in existing service, such as for the transport of chiropody patients to the mainland. There was discussion in the Bute Forum around the withdrawal of Postbus Services in West Cowal and the gap this leaves in the rural area.
In Dalmally work with the North Argyll Transport Forum successfully established a volunteer car scheme. The Forum was able to expand this to other areas in North Argyll. The group also worked with local hospice volunteer drivers. By 2007 there were 48 registered passengers and 25 working drivers in Seil and Kilmelford with three prospective drivers on Luing. In Dalmally there were 20 registered passengers and four volunteer drivers.
NHS Highland employed a part-time Auxiliary Nurse on the Isle of Coll and Argyll and Bute Council employed the same person on a part time basis as a Community Outreach Worker. Exploration of using the same car for both roles met obstacles, such as tax exemption of NHS vehicles, and issues around insurance, accident management, fuel transaction and vehicle condition.
Most of the Area Transport Guides produced by the Council now contain additional information on community transport schemes. These schemes were also to be shown on the Local Authority website. Work began with the South Kintyre Community Transport Initiative as part of the roll-out of the project across Argyll and Bute, with NHS (Argyll/Clyde (Highland)) and the British Red Cross as partners. The Kintyre NHS Re-design Team indicated interest in looking at a community car scheme to cover the outlying areas of Campbeltown, e.g. Carradale and Southend, where public transport is limited and attending hospital appointments in the town difficult. The British Red Cross continued to operate in the Carradale area providing support to the local doctor's surgery one day a week and with journeys into Campbeltown to allow access to podiatry clinics.
There was work with Social Work and Legal Services departments to investigate the possible use of council pool cars during evenings and weekends by outside organisations providing home care to residents of Mid Argyll.
The project ended in September 2007. Its success was very much based on the establishment of partnership working within and between the different organisations involved in the project: regular meetings took place with various community transport groups along with the statutory agencies. The Steering Group for the project felt that the project had been worthwhile and that many improvements had been made within the pilot areas during the three years of the project. The Steering Group was disbanded but the members incorporated into the Argyll Community Transport Focus Group.
While many of the targets were met, reduction of duplicate or unnecessary journeys was difficult due mainly to the legislative, funding and eligibility barriers currently in place. The project was difficult also because of working within and with large statutory organisations e.g. the local authority and NHS who operate under legislative powers and internal plans, policies and objectives. Argyll and Bute Council judged that work would be required at government level to remove legislative barriers and address funding issues before full and complete integration of statutory and community organisations could take place.
The community and voluntary transport providers are a vital part of the transport network in Argyll and Bute without whom many isolated, elderly and vulnerable residents would have no access to essential services such as shopping, banking and medical appointments. However, no single one-size-fits-all solution could be rolled out across Argyll and Bute.
Contact
Blair Fletcher
Transportation Manager
Argyll and Bute Council
Kilmory
Lochgilphead
Argyll
PA31 8RT
Telephone: 01546 604190
E-mail: blair.fletcher@argyll-bute.gov.uk