Transport Service

CWAC’s Transport Service began in St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington and was introduced as a means of providing private transport to children and families attending hospital appointments. Since then, the service has spread to several other London hospitals and to organisations and hospitals within the United Kingdom.

The Transport Service is currently operational in London, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Oxford. The concentration of the Service in metropolis areas is due to the current distribution of infected families. Better specialist healthcare is available in city areas and it is easier for families to maintain anonymity, although this often entails travelling significant distances to hospital appointments. CWAC is constantly looking to expand this service throughout the U.K and we have recently expanded to allow for costs towards one-off costs for day trips and activities for children attending clinics and support centres throughout the U.K. Approximately £25, 000 is spent each year.

“I get tired because of the virus and my three children wear me out. I would not have the energy to get to my hospital appointments if it was not for the CWAC taxis.”

The Transport service enables children and parents to attend hospital appointments where regular attendance is vital to monitoring the health and development of a patient and supporting adherence to treatment. It is an invaluable resource for both hospitals and support services for newly diagnosed families who need a lot of support towards acceptance, disclosure and treatment options. In cases where a parent is able to work, the transport service enables children to be safely transported back to school or home without the parent losing money from taking time off work. It has also assisted children and parents to travel to and from hospitals to visit family members.

“I used it to get to Women’s Aid. I was being battered and needed to get away."

"The children use the transport service to get to their groups. It’s really good for them to be able to get out, they worry so much about me.”

In addition to the health benefits that are mentioned, there are numerous psychological benefits that the service provides. HIV is a virus that breeds stigma and discrimination amongst those who do not understand it. Parents living with HIV often live in fear of disclosure and its repercussions for their family. They can end up feeling isolated and depressed and this affects the entire family whether other members are infected or not. Being able to attend support services where parents and children can obtain peer support, have counselling or partake in fun activities is essential to the well-being of children and families and especially important when children need to be informed about their own diagnosis.

During 2005-2006 CWAC helped more than 400 families in partnership with St Mary's Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital, Newham NHS, George House Trust (in Manchester), Barnardos Riverside (in Glasgow), Waverley Care SOLAS (in Edinburgh) and Bristol Royal Hospital.
The transport service is used for a number of reasons, including:
• Regular hospital appointments
• Hospital admittance or discharge
• Clinical trials
• Regular support service meetings
• Children’s counselling
• Children’s respite/day trips

Click here to read more quotes from families and staff from hospitals and support centres using the transport service.