PATIENTS and visitors could soon be able to make use of a dedicated bus service to and from the George Eliot Hospital.
Bosses at the Nuneaton NHS Trust are undertaking a travel survey to discover people’s arrangements when accessing its services.
So far some 550 questionnaires have been completed and returned with a dedicated hospital bus service or a shuttle service idea two of many currently being explored.
The research is being co-ordinated by director of stakeholder engagement Heather Norgrove.
In an interim report to members of the Trust Board she explained that, among those who drove, the main concerns were broken ticket machines, lack of car parking space and set fees.
The issues facing those attending by public transport, the majority of whom use the bus, were waiting times between connections, lengthy journeys, the regularity of buses, no direct routes and too many stops.
Among the suggestions for improvement from the study include a dedicated hospital bus service, a hospital shuttle bus from Nuneaton town centre and direct bus routes to and from outlying towns and villages. Plans are also in the pipeline to speak to bus companies about their existing routes and timetables.
For those who drive, ongoing talks include discount car parking tickets for regular attendees, the creation of extra spaces and ways to take services out into the community.
A Task and Finish Group has been created to carry out further work and address the key issues and suggestions for improvement and to set up an action plan.
Heather Norgrove said: “The majority (of people) do travel by car, as well as a great number by public transport.
“A shuttle service idea is one of the areas we want to explore.
Supported by the Communities Forum we are also looking at changing timetables to suit appointments or us being aware of ticket timing issues.”
The Task and Finish Group is to report back to the Board in July at its next public meeting.
