A quick Guide to arranging NHS funded transport for NHS Hospital Appointments on the Mainland

For Flights:-

1. Email Patient Transport on ptc.islay@nhs.scot enclosing a copy of your appointment letter or text & clearly state the dates you need flights for & whether AM or PM, your CHI number, your full name and your mobile phone number.
2. Await their response, bearing in mind their opening hours (Mon-Thur 8.30am-4.30pm & Fri 8.30am-4pm) & check, as instructed, the ticket details they will Email to you.
3. Check in at Islay Airport & the LoganAir Desk in Glasgow at least 40 minutes before flight with Photo ID (such as a Driving License or Passport).
4. Use Public Transport to and from the Hospital and keep receipts. You might be eligible to be reimbursed Taxi travel, for instance if you have a weakened Immune System, but this has to be pre-authorized by Martina at Patient Transport Lochgilphead.
5. For claiming reimbursement for travel expenses pick up a ‘NHS Highland & Islands Patients’ Travel Expenses Claim Form’ from the Cashier’s Office at your Appointment Hospital. Fill it in and ask them to sign & stamp it showing them your appointment letter. You then need to post this back to their Lochgilphead address, on the bottom of the form. Please note they don’t usually pay the first £10 of any claim.
6. If you need to cancel or change your flight outside Islay’s Patient Transport hours contact LoganAir direct on 0344 800 2855 (Sat 8am-2pm, Sun 10am-5pm).
7. If you need to arrange a new flight in an emergency outwith  Patient Transport’s hours you will need to book and pay for it yourself and then claim it back using the Highlands & Island’s Form. Please note you cannot use the Air Discount Scheme, if you do, they won’t reimburse you!

For Ferries:-

1. As soon as you receive your appointment letter either take it to Patient Transport at the Reception window at Islay Hospital (or Email them as in Step 1. above). They will issue you with a Travel Warrant for Calmac and give you the Highlands & Islands Patients’ Travel Expenses Claim Form.
2. Take the Travel Warrant ASAP  to the Port Office at either Port Ellen or Port Askaig. The staff usually do their very best to get your vehicle on for a medical appointment but if it’s an urgent appointment (less than 3 weeks notice) and there is no availability left there is a Calmac ‘Urgent Medical Appointment Protocol’, link below.
3. Calmac will issue you with the usual ticket either in paper or phone form to travel as normal.
4. Get the Claim Form signed and stamped at your appointment Hospital showing them your appointment letter.
5. Fill in the rest of the form including details of the car journeys. They normally work out the mileage and deduct the first £10 off each claim. 
6. Add in any receipts such as for overnight accommodation when you can’t get there and back in a day (maximum reimbursement of £50 for accommodation!).
7. Post to the Lochgilphead address on the bottom of the form

An alternative & perhaps quicker way of booking a ferry is to book it online in the usual way & then follow points 3-7 above, collecting the Highlands & Islands form from your appointment hospital.

Calmac Urgent Medical Appointment Protocol

https://www.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/travel/urgent-medical-appointments/#/howitworks

How to get to the Beatson from the Airport using Public Transport

1. Take the 500 Bus (purple or blue/green colour) from the Stance outside M&S to stop 2 Central Station, getting a cheaper return and keeping the receipt.
2. Walk to the end of the road to find Central Station on your right.
3. Buy a return ticket at the machine to Hyndland Station, pressing the button for a receipt too.
4. Go down the escalator on the far right to the lower platform levels and take the frequent trains heading towards Dalmuir that stop at Hyndland.
5. At Hyndland Station follow the signs to ‘Gartnavel Hospitals’ using the stairs or lifts. Walk takes 5-10 minutes depending on your energy levels and is well signposted and flat. We often go in the first Beatson entrance (Tom Wheldon Building) where the main large cafe is and follow the signs in the building to Outpatients etc. 
6. Don’t forget to get your Highland & Island Travel Reimbursement form stamped and signed at the Cashiers Desk in the main Gartnavel Hospital (use the internal tunnel from the Beatson) before your return journey back to the Airport.