Please be aware that patient transport is only available for those patients who are deemed medically unable to make their own way using their own transport or public transport. For those patients that have social circumstances that prevent them from being able to travel to the hospital there is an NHS travel scheme that can support you in getting to us, please see Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme - NHS Choices.
If you have been declined transport due to lack of medical need and feel this is unfair, then please speak to your GP in the first instance. They will need to provide evidence to state there is a medical requirement for transport.
When booking an appointment or an admission at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital’s (RNOH) Stanmore site or an appointment at the RNOH’s Bolsover Street site, it is your responsibility to make your own way to and from the hospital.
Our Guide to Patient Transport Services leaflet provides details about non-emergency hospital transport, covering bookings for:
- Outpatient clinics
- Admission to hospital for inpatient treatment and returning home
- Day care treatment
Before you ask for transport, please think about the following:
- Does your mobility allow you to travel via public transport or independently? Can a friend or family member bring you?
Full details of how to get to our Stanmore and Bolsover Street sites by car and public transport, including buses, tubes and our courtesy car can be found on our website: How to find us.
- All health professionals and patient requests for hospital transport have to be assessed for eligibility
- We cannot provide patient transport for financial or social inconvenience, so you will have to go through a strict eligibility questionnaire
- The eligibility assessment is completely confidential
- All patients will be assessed for eligibility/mobility and any specialist medical requirements to allow for the provision of a suitable vehicle.
Please call the transport assessment team on 0800 953 4138. (Please note that this line is available between 09.00 to 17.00 Monday to Friday and will not be open on bank holidays, including Christmas and Easter).
If you are travelling a long distance you will be re-directed to book transport with your local Integrated Care Board Patient Transport services.
There are three possible outcomes following your assessment:
- You qualify for transport, based on medical need
- You do not qualify for transport on medical grounds, but your public transport fares may be reimbursed because you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit. (See help with your travelling expenses)
- You do not qualify for transport
If you qualify, transport arrangements will be made to collect and return you from your appointment/treatment. If you attend the hospital on a regular basis, you will be assessed for your entire block of treatment and then reassessed once your treatment is complete. All other patients will be reassessed for every appointment.
Short distance non-emergency transport is provided and paid for by RNOH via our outsourced partner, G4S.
If you are travelling a long distance your tansport in arranged by your local Integrated Care Board - the transport may be provided by different transport companies, but these are fully funded by the NHS.
To claim back Congestion and ULEZ charge please complete the form ‘Reimbursement of the Congestion & ULEZ Charge’. This form can be found here. The paper form is also available at the reception of the Outpatients Department. Before this claim can be processed it will need to be authorised by the doctor/consultant you are seeing. You will then need to bring the authorised form together with a copy of your Congestion/ULEZ payment receipt to hand to the reception’.
If you have any queries please contact: rnoh.
Reimbursement of the Congestion & ULEZ Charge form
Information on ULEZ can be found on the ULEZ website.
On the map below, the ULEZ zone does not extend down Brockley Hill from the A41. So, if you are driving to RNOH Stanmore from outside the ULEZ zone and wish to avoid the zone, you must apprach from the A41 southbound down Brockley Hill. You cna then turn right into the main entrance. The ULEZ exemption extends down to the roundabout at the bottom where it meets Spur Road but no further. When leaving the Stanmore site, you are advised to turn left and travel northbound up Brockley Hill to the A41.
If you are eligible for transport, please contact our transport provider, G4S, who will accept your transport booking 3 months in advance of your appointment/admission date, by calling 0800 953 4138. (Please note that this line is available between 09.00 and 17.00 Monday to Friday and will not be open on bank holidays, including Christmas and Easter).
Please note if you are asked to come in for your appointment/admission with less than 72 hours’ notice (working days), it may not be possible to accommodate your request so therefore please ask for this to be escalated for a resolution.
If you are travelling a long distance you may be re-directed to book transport with your local Integrated Care Board Patient Transport services.
The day before your appointment you will be contacted by telephone to confirm the following:
- You are still attending your appointment
- You still need transport
- Your address is still correct on our system
- The right type of transport has been ordered for you
- The time your transport will arrive
If you are an inpatient and travelling by patient transport, you are permitted to take one item of luggage to and from the hospital. You are not allowed to carry electrical items (apart from a mobile phone, Mp3/iPod) while travelling by patient transport.
If you live in the boroughs of Harrow or Barnet, you should be ready for collection approximately two hours before your appointment. All other collection times will be confirmed on the day before your appointment. Please continue to wait if your transport is late. For an update, please contact 020 8909 5895 or 0800 953 4138.
- You will arrive outside the Outpatients’ Department entrance and if required, be assisted into the waiting area
- If your appointment is in another building, please advise the transport team, as your transport may be able to take you straight there
- You will need to return to the Outpatients’ Department waiting room after your appointment; a porter will be available to assist you or a member of staff will arrange for your transport to collect you
- Your transport home will be organised once you have completed your appointment/treatment
- Please follow the instructions you have been given for your return journey or go to the transport office located in the main Outpatients’ Department at Stanmore or the reception desk at Bolsover Street
In order for us to provide you with the best possible service, it is important that you let us know straight away if:
- You no longer need transport. (Please try to give us at least 48 hours notice, so that someone else may be able to use your place)
- You need a different type of transport
- You have changed your address or telephone number.
Please call us on 020 8909 5895 (Monday to Friday 07.00 – 19.00) or 0800 953 4138 (Monday to Friday 09.00 – 17.00. (The service is closed on weekends and bank holidays).
If you are travelling a long distance and have arranged transport with your local Integrated Care Board transport team, please consult your confirmation details about who you need to contact to make changes.
Delaying or refusing to travel could result in being removed from the transport scheme unless it was for an unforeseeable situation.
Failure to cancel or not attend your transport could also result in being removed from the transport scheme.
Please remember that wasted journeys will still be charged to the RNOH and therefore may affect all our service users.
As part of the patient transport scheme, the following maximum waiting times apply:
- Travelling to hospital: 90% of patients should arrive at hospital between 30 and 75 minutes before their appointment time
- Travelling home: 90% of patients should leave hospital within 60 minutes of the requested pick up time.
If you receive income support, income based job seeker’s allowance, tax credit, pension credit or family credit or certain other benefits, you may be able to get help with your travelling expenses. You must show recent proof of the benefit you receive (dated no more than three months before the appointment date). Refunds will be based on the most cost-effective mode of transport.
Taxis are not included within this scheme. If you have an exceptional circumstance which means that you need to travel by Taxis and reclaim fares this needs to be agreed in writing with the relevant clinical service prior to your appointment. The Finance Department is able to provide assistance on eligibility and reimbursement.
For help with the cost of travel, please call 020 3947 0100 or email: rnoh.