"Concerns about access from the Scottish Ambulance Transport Service."

I telephoned this morning to request transport to Raigmore Hospital from Kyle, After answering that a) yes I am disabled and unable to use public transport

b) I live alone and have no other transport

c) I requested transport and gave my clinic and appointment time of 3.00pm,

I hadn't realised that apparently there is cut off time for appointments. I was informed that an appointment at that time did not allow the driver to be back by 5.00pm!! I have re-arranged my appointment - yet again, My last appointment was scheduled for the same clinic but for 9.45am - rather early to get to from Kyle!!,

My concern is that neither I nor the operative to whom I spoke has a true idea of the state of my health - I do know that some 6-7 weeks has elapsed since my first appointment. I feel considerably less well than I did 6-7 weeks ago, and that the way I was spoken to this morning was not the way an elderly person should be spoken to (or indeed any person.) and that an operative in any of the "caring" services should not be able to reduce a person to tears as I was this morning,

My concerns are that if all rural patients have a time constraint surrounding their appointment times to fit into driver duty time reducing the hours when such appointments can be accepted can only increase the waiting time for such appointments. The number of appointment times available is therefore by logic severely curtailed and thus the waiting list will grow. My other concern is that having read the Scottish ambulance aims on their website I suspect that their question dialogue is limited in scope although it may have been my misfortune this morning (although I did also have the misfortune to speak to the same operative the last I arranged transport and she has not improved!! - maybe she always has bad days)

I will also avail myself of the opportunity to let the ambulance patient service know of my experiences as invited on their own website