A BALLINGRY man "doesn't know what to do" after being refused hospital transport - despite having used the service since 2012. 

Nick Adams, 60, of Craigie Gardens called up to request hospital transportation to his appointments on January 16 but was left frustrated after he was told that he had been refused the service. 

He told the Times: "I phoned them up because I always have hospital transport. I have chronic asthma, I'm sight impaired and I'm on oxygen therapy.

"I can't walk long distances and I have a wheelchair. 

"I spoke to one guy and he told me I’ve got to go through some questions. He asked me some questions and I told him my illnesses. He asked me if I could get in a car and I said ‘yes with great difficulty because I have a protruding hernia' and he said ‘well if you can get in a car then you can get a taxi.'

Mr Adams informed the man that he received benefits and would be unable to pay for a taxi.

He continued: "He said 'Well I'm refusing you transport.'

"I put the phone down and my wife was quite angry about it and told me to wait 20 minutes and phone again so that’s what I did.

"I phoned again but apparently it was on the screen that I had already been turned down.  

"Someone said I could appeal the decision but he said to be quite honest it was very unlikely that it would be overturned."

While Nick has family that can drive, they all work and are unable to take him to his various appointments, and with his mobility issues and being on oxygen he needs help to the ward. 

He added: "I've been using hospital transport since 2012 when I became ill, but they’ve all of a sudden decided that they can't give it to me anymore.  

"I was really getting frustrated at the time. I don't know what to do about transport any more.

"I don’t know if they’ve cut services and that’s why they don’t want to take people. I have heard through the grapevine that they’ve tried to cut services."

Patient Transport Services are provided through the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). 

A spokesperson for the SAS said: "The Patient Transport Service provides transport to those with a clinical need for specialist support from a trained ambulance crew.

"Acknowledging that the patient's condition can change, we ask a Patient Needs Assessment (PNA) is completed when requesting each journey. This allows us to better understand their needs or if an alternative option may be more suitable. 

"While we are limited in what we can say in this particular case because of patient confidentiality, our trained staff carefully assess each patient transport request to ensure we are able to meet the needs of those that need our specialist support.

"We encourage patients to seek assistance from friends and family to attend their appointments in the first instance and would ask Mr Adams to contact us so we can talk him through the appeals process.”