Banff pensioner with enlarged heart denied ambulance for Aberdeen Royal Infirmary appointment
A Banff pensioner with a serious heart condition has been denied an ambulance to take him to Aberdeen for an important medical appointment.
Rory Winter, a retired teacher, will instead have to rely on public transport to make the 92-mile round trip this Wednesday. It’s a prospect that fills the 77-year-old with dread.
He said: “I have dizzy spells and find it difficult to even walk around my house. But there’s simply no way I can afford a taxi for the whole journey.
“I think I’m going to have take a taxi to the bus stop, then take my chances.”
Mr Winter, who suffered a cardiac arrest 13 years ago, was diagnosed with an enlarged heart a fortnight ago following an X-ray at his local clinic in Banff.
In addition, he has problems with his lungs and his fluid in his legs.
His appointment on Wednesday is to have an echocardiogram at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) in order to get a clearer picture of his heart.
He said: “I no longer drive but in the past I’ve been able to arrange an ambulance to take me to Aberdeen or to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. But that’s only on three or maybe four occasions over the course of more than a decade.
“I’ve hardly been abusing the system. In fact, I try to avoid hospitals like the plague.
“When the Scottish Ambulance Service first told me I couldn’t have one for Wednesday, I thought it must be because they were particularly busy that day.
“I offered to try change the date of my appointment, but was told I no longer qualified for an ambulance.
“When I appealed I was then told that, if I could take a taxi to get to my local surgery in Banff, I could take one to Aberdeen. That argument totally ignores the cost.”
A return taxi ride there and back would set him back upwards of £300 - money the pensioner doesn’t have.
An alternative is an organisation called THInC, which uses volunteers to transport people to medical appointments in Aberdeen.
However even that would cost as much ass £100 and he’s so far received no guarantee that a driver will be available.
In addition, to Wednesday’s appointment, he is expected to return to the ARI’s cardiology department on March 29.
Mr Winter said: “Just how incapacitated does a person have to be to qualify for an ambulance nowadays?
“I’ve spent hours on the phone this past week, trying to sort something out and being passed from pillar to post. It’s been really stressful.
“I think a lot of people must be finding themselves in a similar situation now.
“It feels like we’re going back to Victorian times when the poor were left to fend for themselves.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Through our patient needs assessment, we review patient requests for patient transport.
“Our services are aimed at those who have the most need and require a clinically trained crew to be transported.
“Should a patient’s request be declined, we direct them to other alternative providers within the local area and to the Health Cost Reclaim Scheme which may be able to assist with some or all transportation costs.
“While we can’t comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality, we have been in contact with Mr Winter and would ask him to contact us so we can discuss his concerns further.”
