What support with transport?

Giving up the car frees up a lot of money for taxis.
One or both of them may be eligible for Attendance Allowance and a Disabled Badge.
Finally most places have some form of community transport or volunteer driver scheme.

My DM gets to all her appointments with a mixture of the volunteer scheme and people from church (church has proved wonderful, almost worth all those dull Sunday mornings)

Obviously it will depend on the particular NHS trust, but both I and my DH each had to have hospital transport every weekday for over a month earlier this year to have radiotherapy treatment - we were told we shouldn't drive or use public transport as it was over a hour journey.

The service was very reliable - mostly a taxi firm and occasionally a transport ambulance or volunteer driver in their own car. Sometimes we shared with one or more other patients but often were by ourselves. We were rung either the night before or early in the morning to confirm that we still needed transport and when to expect it, and then had to report to the hospital reception when our treatment had finished and they'd arrange a return, which usually involved a wait of 1-2 hours.

You can pre book free hospital transport
However the patient will be asked various questions to find out if they meet the eligible criteria.

The patient will also have to wait to be taken home after their appointment, which could be a wait of a few hours.

This is why getting a lift or taxi is sometimes easier for some people.

Good advice from @Musicaltheatremum
Also my understanding is that hospital transport is more like a mini bus, they come early, pick you and many others up for first clinic, then you would have to wait till the clinics end, and everyone gets dropped off one at a time, so can be a long day!

Hospital transport will usually only take you if you can't get in a normal car. They even were difficult with my 97 year old partially sighted and deaf father in law who had heart failure and couldn't walk far. If they can get in and out of a normal car then they expect someone else to take them

Running a car is expensive. Taking the odd taxi probably works out less over a year. Certainly did for my FIL and dad.

FIL set up an account with the taxi firm. Got set prices for journeys and just had a monthly bill sent to my husband who paid from his dad's account as POA.

My dad's insurance was £900 latterly.

I agree with other poster
Add up cost of running a car

Insurance (will increase after age 80)
Tax
Service
MOT
Fuel
Consumerbles like new tyres, brakes
Emergency break down cover

Versus

Cost of taxis

I agree about thinking how much they are currently spending on maintaining a car before being sure they can’t afford taxis. But I hope they will find volunteers to help.

How far is the doctors, what about an electric mobility scooter ?

They should also apply for this

https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge

Where I live there is a community friends & neighbours phone number that is advertised locally which people use for

Lifts to hospital or doctors
Pet sitting
Recommended action for Trades people
Local groups to join
Help with anything

They can both individually claim this & use it on anything to make their lives easier

It is not means tested

https://www.gov.uk/attendance-allowance

I volunteer with a community transport in my area. We take patients to and from appointments, and that will include GP's and hospitals. We are a very reliable service.

In my parents area [ 150 miles from me ] their patient transport is nowhere near as good . They seem to be on time with collecting so the patient gets to their appointment on time, but my mum has had to wait hours to be picked up once her appointment has finished.

It very much seem to vary area by area.

There's normally a voluntary transport scheme or a local authority transport scheme. Google their area or contact their local voluntary services

There’s a community transport organisation in my area, they seem to provide transport (either minibus or in a volunteer’s car) for hospital or GP appointments or shopping trips to the local shopping centre or out of town supermarket.

Go on to the community transport association website, they have a map with community transport groups you can search. Or google community transport in your area and you will find options. Most have a small fee to pay per trip. It may not meet all needs but could help.

Yeah I know. I just can't think how else to get her there. Taxi it is then I suppose.

@DiscoBob There are many truly housebound people who can’t get the doctor out to them, there just isn’t the capacity. Don’t you realise how overstretched the NHS is?!

Agree with comments about cost of running a car vs taxis. Road tax and MOT must account for a fair few taxis!

Is it that taxis are too expensive compared to running a car, or they just don’t want to pay for them?
FIL wouldn’t have ever paid for taxis. He trawled up and down the street trying to cadge lifts off neighbours. When he passed he had over £1m assets.

I think it would be very wrong to say you are housebound when you are not.
GPs can see many people in the time it takes them to travel back and forwards to someone’s house and GP appointments are in short supply.
My own mother only goes out of the house with people holding both of her arms. She is not classed as housebound.

I guess you just have to say she's house bound then. It doesn't have to be permanently house bound does it? They can't call the GP's office and say she can't come in because a taxi is too expensive. So they'll have to give a medical reason else they won't get the support they need.

The British Lions run this service where my parents live, in the north west.