STV News | Appeal for volunteer drivers to help elderly reach NHS appointments #news #shorts #edinburgh @stvnews | Uploaded October 2024 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
Campaigners are calling for more volunteer drivers to take elderly people to healthcare check-ups in East Lothian and Fife.

New research from a volunteering charity shows that almost half of non-drivers over 70 have missed medical appointments, costing the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

Experts say the journeys can also relieve feelings of isolation and stress.

Graeme Douglas has been driving Dorothy Swanson to her weekly doctor appointments since last March.

Dorothy started using the service almost ten years ago to get her leg ulcers treated and says its been a lifeline for her.

She told STV News: “When they were really bad I could’ve lost a leg, but they’re fine, thank goodness.

“But to get there on my own, I couldn’t do it, unless somebody’s going to take me up and take me back. You feel safe because you know who they are.

“I haven’t been up the town for – it upsets me – maybe seven or eight years now. I’m very unsteady on my legs getting on and off buses. I don’t have the same balance as I had years ago.

“So if you’ve no transport, how do you get to your appointments?”