How do your elderly parents in nursing homes get to hospital appointments?

[GreyAreas]

We are just wondering, because dmil is now in a nursing home, family that are close by are not physically able to transfer her from wheelchair into car because she is frail and immobile and they are elderly with their own issues. She is not keen on much intervention, they have a nurse on site and a GP once a week, but she has been invited for hospital appointments etc since moving in which she probably ought to go to.

Where I worked we had a minibus that could take the wheelchair with the resident still in it, we would invite a relative to come with them and take them into the appointment and the driver would wait outside and bring them back after. If no relatives were available a carer would accompany the resident into the appointment.

Home charged for a specialist wheelchair taxi, but no carer time, although given the huge cost probably built in!

As others have said I'd start considering if these appointments are actually helpful or necessary.

Some long-term condition clinics will just keep saying 'see you in 4-6 months' without seriously considering how much and immobile frail nursing home resident is genuinely going to benefit in quality of life by going.

My DM will only go to hospital if she has a fall, if she has anything like a stroke she won’t be taken to hospital. She will never go to hospital for any treatment.

It happened only occasionally with DM. One of the staff would take her, but she had dementia so someone needed to be with her. We lived fairly close by, so one evening I do remember going to the hospital and staying with her, while dh drove the staff member back to the care home.
I don’t think we were ever charged extra.

I had to take my dad to his hospital appointments myself as the care home wouldn't do it.

Yes, there came a point with DM when I agreed with the care home that unless there was e.g. a fracture, there was to be no hospital - in any case a terrible place for anyone with dementia, when they can’t understand what is going on, or why.