Community transport demand soars in Teifi Valley

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00:00It's time for John and his wife Joan's regular trip from their home in Llandysil to his appointment

00:07at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli. It's a round-trip of almost 80 miles, and with

00:13neither of them able to drive, they rely on the charity Dolenteifi.

00:17Well, we'd be lost without it. Since the bus service here, some have got worse. We have

00:27to use them then, really. Most of the buses go through Pencada, but there's no link from

00:34Pencada to Llandysil. So, you know, you're stuck then.

00:40John isn't able to use his hands, so he relies on his wife to go with him to his appointments.

00:45At one time, we used the ambulances, but you couldn't rely on them. And Joan has to come

00:52with me, so she couldn't go on the ambulances. We just couldn't manage without it.

01:00An hour later, John and Joan arrive at Prince Philip Hospital, where volunteer driver John

01:05Hans will wait before taking them home.

01:12The service isn't free, so the journey will cost them around £50.

01:16The demand for this kind of transport has gone up drastically. I think the NHS should

01:22be paying for us to come and collect John, to take him to see a specialist.

01:28With resources stretched, community transport is feeling the pinch across Wales, with the

01:33Community Transport Association estimating nearly a million journeys were made in the

01:38last year, and 60% of those journeys were to a health destination.

01:43The Welsh Government and the health boards do invest in a contract with the Wales Ambulance

01:47Service Trust, which is invaluable, and the team at WAST do an absolutely fantastic job.

01:51But they don't have the capacity to meet everybody's needs. Community transport has sort of always

01:56fallen in between the cracks with those kinds of services. It's not considered to be part

02:00of health and social care. It's not considered to be part of the mainstream transport network.

02:05In response, a Welsh Government spokesperson said that transport is available for patients

02:09needing to get to appointments who have specific medical needs, adding that they've invested

02:14£64 million this year to make improvements to existing bus networks.

02:21John will be collecting John and Joan again soon for their next appointment. Just one

02:25of the many families he'll help over Christmas and beyond.