We need to improve accessibility to FCH for people who rely on public transport, by installing a bus stop at the hospital.
Thousands of Fareham patients are set to benefit from a new same-day GP appointment service – also known as Fareham Primary Care Service – which was launched in September 2017. While I have welcomed the new service which will substantially increase the utilisation of FCH, I am concerned that patients who rely on public transport may have trouble accessing the new service. Patients travelling by bus currently have to get off at Bridge Road, which is the closet stop to FCH, and walk down Brook Lane.
I have been contacted by patients, particularly elderly and disabled people, who struggle to walk from the bus stop, can’t afford a taxi or don’t have relatives or friends who can drive them. A stop at FCH would make all the difference.There are a number of routes, like the X4, where it would only take a short diversion to service a stop at FCH.
Last year I met with the managing director of First Group, the bus company which manages the X4 route and managed previous services to the hospital, to request the re-installation of a bus stop at the hospital after the route had been withdrawn in 2012. But I was subsequently told that there were no plans to redirect the route to include FCH. With the hospital now due to see much greater usage as a result of the new Fareham Primary Care Service, I am again calling for a change to the route to support local people travelling to and from appointments.
The case for a bus stop is now even stronger, with usage set to increase substantially with the addition of same-day-access-services at FCH. I am urging readers to get in touch with me to voice their support for a bus-stop at FCH. Please email me via [email protected] and I will add their name to my petition
People who are going to FCH should not have to deal with the added worry of not knowing how they will get to and from their appointments.
