A hospital or clinic appointment does not mean that you qualify for ambulance transport.
Ambulance transport is available for patients who:
- require assistance from skilled ambulance staff
- have a medical condition that would prevent them from travelling to hospital by any other means
- have a medical condition that might put them at risk from harm if they were to travel independently
- have mobility difficulties that require the assistance of ambulance care staff
- are attending hospital for treatment that might have side effects and require ambulance care on the return journey
In some parts of the country the booking for transport is made by doctors and consultants. In other parts of Scotland patients contact one of our Area Service Offices directly to request transport. From April there will be a dedicated patient booking line in the North of Scotland.
Why do I need to qualify?
Patients who are allocated transport unnecessarily may be preventing a patient with a genuine medical reason from getting to hospital.