NHS Appointment Cancelled - Will they pay £40 train fare?

[ponder]

I'm posting this on behalf of my dad. He was crashed into by a motorist while cycling and is suffering from whiplash/concussion. This was in the summer, and he's been waiting to see a specialist/neurologist in hospital. There weren't any appointments until mid December, so he's decided to get an earlier appointment at a hospital in Newcastle (on Saturday). Anyway, he bought train tickets, totalling about £40 and has just got a phonecall saying that they're going to have to reschedule it to the following week. My mum was going to visit my sister in Durham the following week so luckily, she will be able to drop him off, with a slight detour. So, he needs to get a refund on the tickets.

 

I think you can get refunds on standard tickets, but apparently, you can't get refunds on advance tickets. He got a standard ticket for the outward journey (which hopefully the train company will refund), but strangely, the cheapest train to get back was a 1st class advance, costing £25. Is there any way the NHS will refund him? After all, it was them who (infuriatingly) cancelled the appointment two days before he was due to go as there's "no doctor available on that day" - well why was there a blooming appointment available!!

 

 

Really hope someone can help. Thank-you in advance!

[MsWeatherwax]

Hmm. I'm not 100% sure about this one offhand, but I'll do some poking around at work tomorrow for you. I think the place where it might go wrong is with the 1st class bit, rather than the fact it was an advance ticket. I suspect an explanatory letter will probably help in these circumstances though.

 

Bear with me, I'll see what I can find out tomorrow.

[borisbeaver]

Your best bet is to speak to the PALS office at the hospital. Normally, if you turn up for the appointment and it was cancelled, you would be re-imbursed. I don't know about notifications of cancellations before the appointment date though.

[MsWeatherwax]

I'm going to second the advice about trying PALS - I've asked around, but it does seem doubtful about refunding an advance ticket, and they would certainly only reimburse the cost of standard rail travel, not first class.

 

I know in this instance it was cheaper, but if it says on the ticket or invoice "1st class", there's very little way of the NHS staff finding out what a standard ticket would have been in retrospect - and somebody would get a flea in their ear for refunding first class travel.

 

If you pop the tickets/invoice in with a letter to PALS explaining that you were trying to keep costs down by booking in advance, you might find a sympathetic ear. I'd say it's worth a try, but bear in mind that most NHS hospitals are heavily under the cosh to keep costs down to a complete minimum at the minute.

 

If you don't ask, you don't get though.

 

Good luck.

[Sali]

Madness. Booking train tickets in advance is often the best option financially and regardless of 'class' who wouldn't go for the cheapest as it will be the passenger's cost. The Trust then cancels. Regardless if the notice was adequate, there are financial consequences here to the patient. I would imagine that there would be resistance from the Trust to refunding any money, but quite frankly I wouldn't accept no for an answer. You shouldn't have to hope for a sympathetic ear. If the Trust is going to take this tack, they should be informing the patient of travel cost consequences if the Trust cancels the appointment. Not doing so, in my book, makes them liable.

[ponder]

Thank you very much for the replies. He certainly had no luck getting either of them refunded by National Rail or whoever - just a condescending, stern word about not reading the T&Cs!

 

I've told him to go to the PALS office and explain the situation - he obviously has a letter informing him that the appointment was cancelled which actually only got to him the day before the appointment, after he'd got in from work - if I wasn't at home the other day, he wouldn't have known until the Friday evening and would have been due to travel the following morning. Anyway, that's irrelevant really.

 

Like Sali, I think it's unfair that the patient should incur the cost of travel for a cancelled appointment, when it would have been out of the question to buy an open return on the day, at a cost of £80 I think. He definitely wasn't informed that he wouldn't be reimbursed for a cancelled appointment, but I was told over the 'phone, that if he'd have been on benefits, he could have claimed the cost back. Oh well, I guess we'll just wait and see how co-operative the Trust are - otherwise, I don't think it's OTT to write a complaint requesting reimbursement.

[MsWeatherwax]

Thank you very much for the replies. He certainly had no luck getting either of them refunded by National Rail or whoever - just a condescending, stern word about not reading the T&Cs!

 

I've told him to go to the PALS office and explain the situation - he obviously has a letter informing him that the appointment was cancelled which actually only got to him the day before the appointment, after he'd got in from work - if I wasn't at home the other day, he wouldn't have known until the Friday evening and would have been due to travel the following morning. Anyway, that's irrelevant really.

 

Like Sali, I think it's unfair that the patient should incur the cost of travel for a cancelled appointment, when it would have been out of the question to buy an open return on the day, at a cost of £80 I think. He definitely wasn't informed that he wouldn't be reimbursed for a cancelled appointment, but I was told over the 'phone, that if he'd have been on benefits, he could have claimed the cost back. Oh well, I guess we'll just wait and see how co-operative the Trust are - otherwise, I don't think it's OTT to write a complaint requesting reimbursement.

 

In an ideal world, I'd agree with both of you.

 

Sadly, it's anything but and I've spent the last few weeks listening to multiple lectures about how the impact of the recession means NHS funding is about to bite the proverbial dust.

 

I know it feels very harsh, but things do get cancelled - equipment breaks down, doctors get ill, and there isn't a whole lot we can do about it even though we'd love to. When it happens I'm only too aware people have taken a day of leave, they've bought tickets and had to find childcare. We're usually stretched financially as it is, but I imagine belts are being tightened firmly right across the country this year, so don't expect them to cough up right away. I'm not saying it's right, but I don't want to pretend that someone will just throw he cash your Dad's way if it's not likely to happen.

 

I know it's rotten because he did the right thing booking in advance. Again, it's still worth a try. Let us know how you get on, and if you want a hand with the letter, give us a shout.

[Sali]

The NHS is pretty much recession proof. The Labour government has supposedly thrown millions (nay, billions) of pounds at it over its term of office. The improvements (some might say there have not been any) do not match the outlay.

 

Perhaps it would be fairer to fine the patient for not giving notice of cancellation as long as the patient can do the same when the roles are reversed, as in this case.

[ponder]

I know, it's pretty rubbish. But the NHS most definitley does waste money (they paid my friend £12 per hour do do some basic admin for months, and not to mention that ridiculous £400,000 yacht thing). Maybe if it was more accountable for messing up, they might sort out booking appointments and arranging doctors' shifts? I don't know - it's worth a try! Will let you know how he gets on on Saturday. I think he's mostly peeved that he's been paying his taxes for 40 years and knew as soon as he'd need to use the NHS, they'd mess him around. Good job he had his accident in the Ukraine I guess!

 

ETA: Thanks for the offer of help with the letter MsWeatherWax!