A PATIENT from Cashes Green says he was left in agony after his vital pre-booked hospital never turned up.
Paul O’Mahoney, 56, had booked non-emergency transport with Arriva for a CT scan on his knee at Cheltenham General Hospital on Friday, August 25, ahead of surgery later this year.
However, despite having booked the vehicle back on July 31 for 6.20am ahead of an 8am appointment, transport failed to arrive, meaning he missed his appointment.

Fortunately staff at Cheltenham General were able to find Mr O’Mahoney another appointment slot on the same day at 1pm, but he had to fork out £80 for a taxi.

“I’m in major agony and just very disappointed,” said Mr O’Mahoney.

“I can’t drive that distance and if I had enough notice that there wouldn’t be any transport then I could have asked around – but not at 6am in the morning!

“We rang up the night before to make sure that there was a vehicle coming the following morning and they said that one hadn’t been assigned yet, so we asked for a car and not an ambulance, because I can’t make the step up into an ambulance.

“I was sitting around waiting for car the next morning and it just never arrived, and when we rang up they said that they didn’t have enough vehicles to be able to send me one.

“I was up at 5am ready to be waiting for the pick-up and I just feel disappointed that I at least wasn’t told there wouldn’t be a vehicle.

Mr O’Mahoney, a HGV driver, has been unable to work since last April after the pain in his left knee became worse and worse.

He is unable to walk more than 100 yards and has only been able to drive the distance from his Cashes Green home to Sainsbury’s – but not without a great amount of pain.

His CT scan was to assess the damage caused to his knee, prior to a consultation later this year and an operation.

Mr O’Mahoney's partner Margaret said that it could have been a lot worse if Paul had been alone and elderly and fears that other customers are missing vital appointments.

A spokesman for Arriva, which is contracted to operate the non-emergency patients transport services in Gloucestershire, said that an attempt to rearrange the appointment had been rejected and had been unable to make sure it was a car that would be picking up Mr O’Mahoney at such short notice.

“At 7.45pm on the evening before Mr O’Mahony was due to travel he contacted our control centre to inform us that he did not wish to travel to hospital in an ambulance and requested that only a car should be used,” said Mark Feather, head of operations at Arriva.

“This request significantly reduced the options we had available and regrettably resulted in a delay to the patient’s transport.

“At 10.17am we contacted Mr O’Mahoney to inform him that we could pick him up at 10.30am and that we would also liaise with the hospital to re-arrange his appointment time.

“Mr O’Mahoney declined this offer and informed us that he would make his own way to hospital.”