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Patient buggies

Posted By buggy user

"Patient buggies"

About: Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow

(as a service user),

I have seen and know others who have utilised the patient buggies which take people between car parks and buildings in the grounds of the QEUH. Think these buggies are a great idea but there are several problems which reduce the number of people who use them.

Firstly, it's not an obvious "bus stop" and certainly no seats for those who are less mobile to sit at while they wait. Secondly, there is no phone or button adjacent to some of the call spots in the car park which relies on people to have known or remembered the telephone number to ring. Thirdly and most significantly is that those with mobility issues cannot walk the distance inside the main building; the buggy only goes to an external point (currently near the bus stops some distance even from the main door to the main building) and they are unable to therefore get into the building to request help from a volunteer or indeed to make it themselves to a clinic. Can the buggies not go internally into the body of the hospital or can a horizontal escalator not be included such as you have been airports? ? ,

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Responses

Response from Nicole McInally, Patient Experience and Public Involvement Project Manager, PEPI, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 5 years ago
Nicole McInally
Patient Experience and Public Involvement Project Manager, PEPI,
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Submitted on 17/04/2019 at 12:17
Published on Care Opinion at 15:35

picture of Nicole McInally

Dear Buggy User

Many thanks for taking the time to post about your experience on Care Opinion.

The Patient and Visitor Transportation Buggy provides assistance to patients and visitors by collecting them and transporting them to the building that they require to go to. At the pedestrian exits from Car Park 1 and 2, there is a yellow, signed, wall mounted buzzer which connects to a mobile phone which is held by our Patient and Visitor Transportation Buggy driver, allowing the request to be made. The driver can also be contacted by reception staff from any building around campus and will come and provide a return service back to the car park, or alternatively to a bus stop or drop off/pick up point, or an alternative location within the hospital campus.

You have raised a valid point that there are no benches or seating located at the pick up points at Car Park 1 and 2, and this is because the area is located only meters away from cars traversing around the car park. I will explore with site colleagues whether there is a safe seating option that could be explored. Seating is available in the surrounding area (benches located to the right of the pick up point at Car Park 1 (approximate 20 meters), and benches are located opposite the pick up point at Car Park 2, along the pathway to the main entrance.

The Buggy is available to use from 9am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday, and is equipped with a wheelchair ramp and wheelchair anchoring straps for users that requires them. You are correct that the service is only operated external to our buildings, however the Buggy driver can source a wheelchair or assist users within the building to a seated area and liaise with reception colleagues so that a Porter can be requested to assist in arriving at your final destination. If the Buggy driver has no other person’s awaiting a transfer, the driver can continue to offer assistance and accompany you further into the building.

Within our Board, there are no internal buggy systems in operation and there are a number of reasons for this including health and safety, and size limitations of doorways and lifts etc. There are also no horizontal escalators in use. If assistance is required, as noted above, a Porter will be requested to provide this.

Kind Regards

Mandy Machell, Deputy Site Facilities Manager - Business

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