Most people should travel to and from hospital independently by private or public transport, with the help of relatives or friends if necessary. NHS-funded patient transportation is reserved for when it is considered essential to ensuring an individual’s safety, safe mobilisation, condition management or recovery. It is vital that NHS resources are used appropriately to ensure that those using them receive the best service possible.

Overview of patient transport options

Healthcare travel costs scheme (funded transport)

Dialysis reimbursement scheme

NHS funded transport

Information for healthcare professionals

Patient FAQs

Overview of patient transport

If you’re going to a healthcare appointment for non-emergency tests or treatment, you’ll normally be expected to make your own way there using your own transport or the range of public, community and voluntary transport available locally.

Please find links to transport options that you may find helpful in planning your travel to your NHS appointments:

Community transport and volunteer car schemes

Taxis or wheelchair accessible vehicles

Public transport

Car sharing

  • Car Share Dorset – free to register website, matching drivers and passengers from across Dorset who are doing the same or similar journeys. Liftshare calculates a suggested contribution per passenger for your journey based on the length of your trip and using HM Revenue and Customs approved mileage payment allowance. Drivers can adjust the price within a capped window, to ensure passenger costs offset real costs and no profit is made – therefore not invalidating your car insurance. The contribution set by the driver using this system is fixed, making it simple and transparent for everyone involved. Visit the Lifeshare website.

Healthcare travel cost scheme (HTCS)

The Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme is part of the NHS low income scheme which also covers other expenses such as prescriptions and glasses. Through it, financial help with travel costs may be claimed by people who are referred to hospital or other NHS premises for specialist NHS treatment or diagnostic tests by their GP (or sometimes by their dentist).

Visits to GP surgeries and dentists for routine care, as well as most emergency department attendances, are not included.

For information on how to qualify for help with travel costs under the HTCS and how to claim, please look at the NHS Services Help with Health Costs website.

In-centre haemodialysis travel reimbursement scheme

This scheme offers financial support to help cover the cost of travelling to and from your in-centre haemodialysis appointments.

Whether you drive yourself, get lifts, use public transport, book taxis, travel in your Motability vehicle, or join a community transport scheme, the scheme reimburses you for the miles travelled. All patients receiving in-centre haemodialysis registered with a Dorset GP are eligible.

NHS-funded non-emergency patient transport

Patients travelling to NHS non-emergency healthcare are normally expected to use their own transport. They can also use a range of public, community, or voluntary transport. Some people may be eligible for NHS Funded Transport if they meet the criteria for support or assistance on or after the journey.

Patients attending appointments are to be advised that they must be ready up to 2 hours before their appointment time as other patients may be picked up en route.

The NHS cannot provide NEPTS for social reasons, or for privately funded appointments and treatment, and there is strict national eligibility criteria set by NHS England for this type of transport depending on the patient’s medical condition and the amount of support or assistance required on the journey.

Booking non-emergency patient transport

The Patient Transport Advice Centre (PTAC) manages patient transport assessments and bookings.

Patients who think they may qualify for NHS funded transport should telephone the Patient Transport Advice Centre (PTAC) office. They will ask some simple questions about your medical condition and mobility needs to determine your eligibility. They will offer other support options if needed. All calls will be recorded so please ensure accurate information is provided.

  • Tel: 01278 727457

  • 8:30am – 6:30pm

  • Monday – Friday (excluding bank holidays)

Information for healthcare professionals

If you have any queries or require access the online booking portals, please contact: patient.transport@nhsdorset.nhs.uk

Discharge and transfer – for healthcare professionals

Health Transportation Group (HTG) provide transport to facilitate hospital discharge and transfers for eligible service users.

The service operates:

  • Monday – Friday – 8am – 10pm
  • Saturday – Sunday & bank holidays – 9am – 7pm

Last bookings will be accepted one hour before the end of service, all journeys must allow HTG vehicles to return to their base location within one hour of the latest collection time. This ensures safe and secure storage at the end of each day, allowing for maintenance and cleaning before the next day’s service.

Bookings for this service are to be made by healthcare staff using the HTG Cleric PTS online portal.

However, please contact the HTG enquiry line on 01268 209655 when booking for:

  • HDU
  • Complex discharges
  • Bariatric patients
  • Patients detained under the Mental Health Act

Outpatient journeys – for healthcare professionals

Health Transportation Group (HTG) provide transport to eligible service users to attend outpatient appointments both in and out of area, including renal dialysis treatment.

Dialysis bookings will mainly be made by healthcare professionals via the cleric portal.

Healthcare staff can also ring PTAC using the number or email the team:

Be advised, please ring HTG call centre 01268 209655 when booking for:

  • Patients detained under the Mental Health Act
  • Bariatric patients

Repatriation discharge journeys – for healthcare professionals

In line with the NHS England Out of Area Journeys Directory, NHS Dorset can be contacted on neptsapprovals@nhsdorset.nhs.uk

Our repatriations journeys are carried out by our provider HTG, they can be contacted directly on 01268 209655 to make a transport booking. Note: out of area journeys require a notice of 24 hours for HTG to undertake.

Patient FAQs

People travelling to NHS non-emergency healthcare are normally expected to make their own way, using their own transport or the range of public, community or voluntary transport available locally.

Some people may be eligible for NHS funded patient transport if they meet the criteria for support or assistance on or after the journey.

Eligibility criteria are in place to ensure that those with a genuine need have access to the services they require.

Most people should travel to and from hospital independently by private or public transport, with the help of relatives or friends if necessary. NHS-funded patient transportation is reserved for when it is considered essential to ensuring an individual’s safety, safe mobilisation, condition management or recovery.

It is important for patients to be aware that they will be asked to be ready two hours before their appointment (time of collection) irrespective of the distance to the appointment as it may be that other patients are picked up on the way.

Equally, whilst the aim is always to get the patient to their appointment as close to the appointment time as possible, patients may sometimes be dropped off up to 45 minutes prior to the appointment time depending on scheduling. Equally, patients may be picked up to an hour after their appointment time following their appointment.

Most people should travel to and from hospital independently by private or public transport, with the help of relatives or friends if necessary. NHS-funded patient transportation is reserved for when it is considered essential to ensuring an individual’s safety, safe mobilisation, condition management or recovery.

Users of NHS funded patient transport must meet the national eligibility criteria that, for example, will assess whether someone has a medical or mobility requirement meaning they are unable to make their own way.

Patients must also be attending are attending non-emergency NHS funded healthcare excluding primary dental or medical care appointments .

If you are believe you may  qualify for support, ring the Patient Transport Advisory Centre (PTAC) on 01278 727457.

The service is open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:00pm (except for bank holidays when the office is closed).

NHS Dorset pays for the transport provision for any person registered with a GP in Dorset who:

  • has been assessed as eligible for NHS funded patient transport
  • are attending non-emergency NHS funded healthcare excluding primary dental or medical care appointments

People that are eligible will not need to pay for transport.

If you are unsure whether you qualify for support either based on your medical or financial needs, in the first instance call the Patient Transport Advisory Centre (PTAC) service on 01278 727457. The service is open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:30pm (except for bank holidays when the office is closed).

Please have available the following information:

  • Name and address
  • Date of birth
  • Telephone number
  • NHS number
  • GP details
  • Details of treatment
  • The hospital or clinic you are attending
  • Time, date and expected duration of the appointment
  • Department and consultant details
  • Type of appointment (outpatient, day case, discharge etc.)

You can find your NHS number in a few ways:

No, each time you make a booking your eligibility will be reassessed to take into account changing circumstances and clinical needs.

No, not necessarily. You will only receive NHS funded patient transport if you are individually assessed as meeting the medical eligibility criteria.

Care homes should not ask the person’s GP surgery to book transport on their behalf.

No, not necessarily. You will only receive NHS funded patient transport if you are individually assessed as meeting the eligibility criteria.

For your first appointment you should call the Patient Transport Advisory Centre (PTAC) on 01278 727457. They will assess your eligibility by asking you a number of questions. Please provide accurate and honest answers. All calls are recorded.

The service is open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:30pm (except for bank holidays when the office is closed).

No. The national regulations do not allow NHS funded patient transport services to take you to primary care, such as a GP, dentist, optician or pharmacist or any appointment provided by the practice staff.

The Patient Transport Advisory Centre (PTAC) will undertake eligibility assessments and book transport, using the same criteria each time. The service will follow protocols to check the person’s eligibility, whether they can safely use other forms of transport and any immediate circumstances which have to be taken into account. They do not base their decisions on a given diagnosis but on a person’s need for support and access to help.

Yes, provided that:

  • you are registered with a GP in Dorset
  • have been assessed as eligible for NHS funded patient transport
  • attending non-emergency NHS funded healthcare excluding primary dental or medical care appointments

No. You will only receive NHS funded patient transport if you are individually assessed as meeting the medical eligibility criteria. If you are financially eligible you can reclaim the costs of travel through the healthcare travel costs scheme.

There are a number of community transport services available in Dorset to support anyone who is not eligible for NHS-funded patient transport. The person will have to pay for the cost of these services.  Please find below links to transport options that you may find helpful in planning your travel to your NHS appointments:

Public transport – bus, train, or coach. For bus and train routes, connections and times contact Traveline call 0871 200 2233 (calls from landlines cost 12p per minute) or visit www.travelinesw.com. Also visit Dorset Council’s website for advice and information on using public transport.  If you have a bus pass or rail card, you may be able to choose an appointment time when you can use your pass for free or reduced-price travel.

(Dorset Council Residents) information on community transport and volunteer car schemes operating in Dorset can be found at Dorset Council’s website (note, for people living in the Dorset Council area).

(BCP Council Residents) – information on community transport and volunteer car schemes operating in BCP. Find out more information on their website.

Car Share Dorset – Free to register website, matching drivers and passengers from across Dorset who are doing the same or similar journeys. Liftshare calculates a suggested contribution per passenger for your journey based on the length of your trip and using HM Revenue and Customs Approved Mileage Payment Allowance. Drivers can adjust the price within a capped window, to ensure passenger costs offset real costs and no profit is made – therefore not invalidating your car insurance. The contribution set by the driver using this system is fixed, making it simple and transparent for everyone involved. Car share with trusted, reviewed and rated Liftshare.com members.

Taxis or wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAV) – You can search the internet or contact local information services for details of taxis or WAV providers in your area.

AbleCabs are able to offer wheelchair services to patients in Dorset.

Tel: 01305 334455

You can travel with an escort if one of the following applies:

  • your medical condition is such that you require constant supervision for safety (the escort must be able to meet your medical need, and it should be established whether a healthcare professional would not be the preferred option)
  • mental health problems prevent you travelling alone
  • you are younger than 16 years
  • you have significant communication difficulties, including learning difficulties, impaired sight or is hard of hearing (where a person has communication difficulties the escort should be able to provide a positive benefit in ensuring they can understand anything being said to them by the ambulance crew; such as through the use of sign language where they are hard of hearing).

If you think any of the criteria apply to you, then you may be eligible to be accompanied.

In some clinical circumstances, where this is warranted, this may be possible. You or your healthcare provider will need to raise this with the booking office when booking transport.

No. NHS funded patient transport vehicles are designed to carry more than 1 person at a time. However, in very limited circumstances, it may be clinically appropriate for someone to travel alone. These circumstances would include, but not be limited to, having an infectious condition or having MRSA in an open area or wound or where it would be unsafe in another way for someone to share with others.

There will be a proportion of people who will qualify on financial grounds for support with transport costs even if they are not eligible for NHS funded patient transport on medical grounds. Please see further information for the Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme.

Not all benefits and tax credits automatically entitle people to quality for assistance under the healthcare travel costs scheme.

Your transport provider will be responsible for keeping people and/or hospital departments informed if they are running late.

As far in advance as possible, you should contact the Patient Transport Advisory Centre (PTAC) to cancel the journey. Even if you make this decision on the day, it is useful to let them know. Your transport may then be used on another journey instead.

From home

Because there may be other people being collected on the way, you will be asked to be ready to be picked up to 2 hours before your appointment time. Should you not be ready when a vehicle arrives, the crew or driver will only be able to wait a short amount of time without compromising the arrangements for other people. If the crew must move on there is no guaranteed return to pick you up later.

After your appointment or treatment

Your return journey will have been booked for a set time. If you are held up and not ready when your transport arrives, they are able to wait for a short period. If the transport cannot wait until you are ready, a new booking will need to be made.

Yes, information is available on NHS England website.

If you still have a query regarding non-emergency patient transport, please send it to the team via e-mail: patient.transport@nhsdorset.nhs.uk