TRANSPORT to and from hospital appointments is available to those who need it, the health board has said.

Hywel Dda Health Board has issued a guide to the options available to patients and families travelling to and from Withybush and Glangwili hospitals.

It follows a recent story about a mother and her young daughter who spent several hours in the rain while waiting for a train back to Pembrokeshire, after being discharged from Glangwili in the middle of the night.

Steve Moore, health board chief executive, said recent reports and stories on social media about patients’ experiencing difficulty getting to and from Glangwili had been “difficult to read”, adding that the health board was keen to avoid similar situations in the future.

He praised the health board’s partnership with charity Action for Children, which he said had helped more than 15 Pembrokeshire families with their hospital journeys since the scheme was set up in September.

This was despite the scheme, available to families using women and children’s services between 9am and 9pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 4pm on weekends, only having two of the 15 drivers needed.

A health board spokesman said four members of staff were currently supporting the scheme in the interim, and four more volunteers have been lined up to start soon.

Free bus tickets for vulnerable families are also available from various wards, child and adolescent mental health teams, and general offices at both hospitals.

These can be used to access the 322 Withybush to Glangwili service – which runs Monday to Saturday, three times a day - and the 381 Tenby to Haverfordwest service, which connects with the 322 in Narberth.

For patients needing to get home from Glangwili or Prince Philip Hospital, the Cwm Menter Gwendraeth Twilight Service also operate Thursday to Monday, between 2pm and 10pm.

The health board has said it was “very unusual” for a patient to be discharged from an inpatient ward overnight, but said anyone discharged or released from A&E out-of-hours was normally expected to find their own way home.

Free phone facilities to call for a taxi are available at each hospital, and a discharge lounge is also open between 8.30am until 6pm at Glangwili, for patients waiting for transport.

For planned journeys and inpatients stays, patients registered with GP practices in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire can call the Welsh Ambulance Service on 0300 123 2303 to see if they are eligible for free transport.

Patients registered with Ceredigion practices should call 0845 840 1234.

The health board’s transport team can also help work out the best service to use, and can be contacted on 01267 229620.

People claiming certain benefits, or on a low income, may be eligible for help towards travel costs from the NHS if they are under the care of a consultant, and ward sisters and hospital managers can also use their discretion to pay for a taxi for frail, elderly patients and young, vulnerable families, if no alternative is available.

Anyone experiencing an emergency – defined as a ‘critical or life-threatening situation – should still call 999 and ask for an ambulance, the spokesman emphasised.

A dedicated ambulance to transfer patients using women and children’s services between Withybush and Glangwili has been in place since they were moved out-of-county a year ago, and will remain in place until April 2016.

A recent interim review of changes to women and children’s services by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also recommended that the service be continued after next Spring.

Due to an insufficient number of junior doctors at Withybush, an extra ambulance has also been operating 16 hours a day to take patients in some parts of the county to Glangwili, and this will run until December.

Mr Moore added: “We continue to communicate with our frontline clinical staff to ensure they have access to information to support patients with non-emergency transport.

“Our staff are working extremely hard, often during periods of high demand, and we commend them for their dedication to the NHS.

“We expect all NHS staff to be helpful and compassionate when assisting people with discharge from hospital.”

Anyone experiencing difficulty getting to and from hospital is advised to raise their concern with a member of staff at the time.