NHS travel troubles: Barriers patients face getting to appointments

Each year, there are hundreds of thousands of NHS appointments across our county.

When we looked at how patients travelled to the doctors, dentists, and hospital services, people told us that cost, public transport problems, and the distance to their appointments made travelling difficult, if not impossible.

Five issues facing patients

What people are saying about healthcare access in North Yorkshire:

1. Trouble accessing help to travel to healthcare
2. Inconvenient times and locations
3. Unreliable or limited transport
4. Availability and cost of parking
5. Accessibility

1. Trouble accessing help to travel to healthcare

The NHS Low Income Scheme and non-emergency patient transport services for disabled people exist to help people with healthcare travel costs.

At a time when living costs are high and many people are struggling to make ends meet, schemes to help with healthcare travel costs are vital for improving access to care. But awareness of these schemes remains low, and we’ve heard from people who could benefit from the schemes being turned down.

For those without access to public transport, the cost of travel can be prohibitive. A patient from Scarborough highlighted:

"To visit York on the train costs about £23 return plus extra for a local bus to get to the hospital. I think this is prohibitively expensive for many patients needing health care."

North Yorkshire's rural landscape means that public transport options are often limited. Many people rely on infrequent bus services, which can make it difficult to attend appointments on time. One person said:

"We live in an area where there is either very limited public transport or in the case of 18 villages, there is no transport whatsoever" (Reeth & District Community Transport)

2. Inconvenient times and locations

We know that giving patients a choice in time, day, and location for appointments can reduce long waits and improve access to care.

On the other hand, unsuitable times, days, or locations for care force people to make long and inconvenient journeys to more distant hospitals when more convenient locations are available.

“It's cruel to insist that a cancer patient attends daily appointments 50 plus miles away.”

When the NHS takes steps to centralise specialist services or close or reorganise more local services, this can have an impact. 

We've heard about people having to make longer, inconvenient trips to see their GP or get NHS dental treatment. Closure of closer surgeries in more rural areas and many dentists stopping NHS treatments altogether are among the causes.

3. Unreliable or limited transport

At a time when public transport has been substantially reduced, as recent research from Friends of the Earth has shown, the time, day and location of appointments matters. We heard about people being booked appointments at times before public transport could get them there or at weekends when there are limited or no services available.

“I’m recovering from cancer. I don’t drive. The bus is once every three hours through the village. To get to a main road there are no pavements or lighting. It’s too great a risk to negotiate traffic.”

The affects on people are worrying:

“People living rurally put up with more pain. And if it wasn’t for getting help from someone, I would give up.”

An NHS healthcare professional we spoke with echoes the concerns we've been hearing:

“It's not uncommon that some of our patients travel over an hour to get to a specialist service. And if they've got pain, they've got fatigue, they've got incontinence issues, they just can't travel that far.”

When it comes to booking patient transport, people are generally appreciate the patient transport service in North Yorkshire for its reliability and the professionalism of the staff. Although, some people suggest improvements in waiting times and eligibility criteria.

Community transport schemes are available for those who do not qualify for patient transport schemes, but they can be less convenient compared to the dedicated patient transport service. 

People have also told Healthwatch about long waits to speak to staff, a lack of availability for early morning or weekend appointments, unreliable services, and insufficient alternative booking options for people with hearing impairments.

4. Availability and cost of parking

Many patients report long wait times for appointments, which can exacerbate health issues. One lady from Harrogate shared her feedback:

"I have ongoing back issues. I have been referred to the musculoskeletal clinic this week and have been told I won’t be seen for weeks if not months. I am in agony."

People often have to travel long distances to access specialist services. One person from Knaresborough mentioned:

"Having to travel to the bigger hospital for outpatient appointments with a disabled person, disabled bays are very difficult to get. Why can't these appointments be at the smaller hospitals?"

"More often than not you wait an hour for a ten-minute consultation. Surely a phone call or make use of the smaller hospitals would be better for the patient and that would save on travelling and less stress in parking."

5. Accessibility

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, there are about 154,300 people with a learning disability (Source: Yorkshire Public Health) alongside many others who have physical disabilities or sensory impairments. It is estimated that in 2026 this will rise to 161,500 people.

Across all the hospitals, disabled parking is generally available, with Blue Badge holders parking for free in most locations. However, the availability of spaces can be limited, particularly during busy times or at large hospitals. Parking fees are generally in the range of £1 to £3 per hour, with daily rates ranging from £5 to £15. Concessions are available in some hospitals for long-term patients or those attending for regular treatments, but these vary by hospital.

However, people with disabilities and Blue Badge holders continue to say that there aren’t always enough disabled parking spaces available, which isn't discovered until they turn up to their appointment.

People with limited mobility described having to use standard parking spaces instead. In one instance, all the disabled parking spaces were unavailable due to building work:

“Patients accessing the GP practices and the hospital have been complaining they are unable to use disability parking places due to building work taking over the space at the hospital car park. They asked if this could be communicated to the hospital and give some feedback.”

People with disabilities often face additional challenges, but as one person in Ryedale said, better communication can go a long way:

"Having to travel to the bigger hospital for outpatients appointments with a disabled person, disabled bays are very difficult to get. Why can't these appointments be at the smaller hospitals? More often than not you wait an hour for a ten-minute consultation. Surely a phone call or make use of the smaller hospitals would be better for the patient and that would save on travelling and less stress in parking." 

People also need a choice of ways to pay for parking at healthcare settings. At some NHS hospitals, the only payment method was online.

“If you don't have a smartphone you are discriminated against, especially for things like not being able to pay for parking in some places when going for appointments.”