The termination of a contract for a bus service which transfers Channel Island cancer patients to Southampton Hospital ‘will not impact Jersey patients’, Health and Care Jersey has said.
The ‘Daisy Bus’ shuttle service, which takes cancer patients staying at hotels in Southampton to their hospital appointments, is being withdrawn on 20 August.
Wessex Cancer Support says this is due to the ’external funding being stopped’.
Some islanders who have previously used the bus service have described it as ‘invaluable’.
Health and Care Jersey says there will be no impact on Jersey patients.
The department has told Channel 103 it will continue to book and pay for taxis for patients taking the same journey between their accommodation and Southampton hospital.
In a statement, Emily Hoban, Head of Access for Health and Care Jersey, said:
"HCJ allocated £56,600 towards the service annually. However, a notable decline in Jersey patients using the service this year, meant that the Daisy Bus was operating at a cost of around £60 per passenger journey.
This is significantly higher than the average cost of a £19 taxi journey."
HCJ says taxis are less than half that price, and are able to run outside of the bus schedule times:
"The Daisy Bus operates on a scheduled timetable and outside these times taxis are provided for patients, which is an additional cost.
The termination of the Daisy Bus contract will not impact Jersey patients as all taxis are already booked and paid for directly by HCJ’s Travel Office."
All patients who currently use the Daisy Bus service will be made aware of their new travel arrangements when the service discontinues.
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