Chronically ill man fears losing out as Burnley General to Royal Blackburn hospital shuttle terminated

David, who does not wish to publicise his surname, claims he has used the free shuttle bus once a month on average to travel from Burnley General to Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital for the past six years.

The East Lancashire Hospitals Trust will stop the service from Monday, March 31st, blaming a lack of funds and annual operation costs of £780,000.

The shuttle takes 30 minutes between the Burnley and Blackburn sites and is available to staff, patients, and visitors. David, who does not own a car, calls it a "godsend". The 63-year-old suffers from sleep apnoea, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, an irregular heartbeat, and liver problems.

"I can't walk far: five minutes before I have to sit down or pass out. I don't sleep well, I have a breathing machine and need to sleep during the afternoon to regain energy. So the journey time is already exhausting."

David fears that travelling with his wife to hospital appointments via numerous alternative buses, trains, and taxis, which would require various changes at stations, would see the cost and time of the journey more than double.

He says he can afford the £10 return taxi fare to and from his house to catch the shuttle at Burnley General by scrimping elsewhere, but beyond that, transport costs are a struggle. "The shuttle bus was reliable and pretty much full with patients and staff whenever we used it."

The Trust often rejects his requests to transfer appointments to Burnley General, he added. Or he faces a longer wait of weeks or months at Burnley instead of days at Blackburn, even for urgent appointments.

He regularly stays in the hospital and worries his wife Judie and son Adam will struggle to afford to visit him with the fare cap for alternative buses having risen to £3.

"It means a great deal to have my loved ones there. It would be so difficult to cope [without them]. If you're there all day and night and no one comes to speak to you, your mental state goes down. We have mobiles and video calls, but it's not the same."

David calls for a more thorough risk assessment to explore the potential impact on passengers of stopping the shuttle.

"The Trust has to realise that people rely on it. Some are in worse situations than us and might choose not to go to see consultants. It will hit the elderly or those who can't afford to run a car. For some people, it's like a heating or eating situation. But it's worse than that because this is about people's health.

"I hope somebody wakes up and does something about it."

A Trust spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry to hear David is struggling with his health but positive he is receiving regular long-term treatment for these conditions. The Trust has said many times it will support passengers who are impacted by the closure of the shuttle bus, but it’s difficult to do this without specific details so we’d ask him to make contact with us directly and we’ll work with him to understand the alternative travel options and do everything we can to help.”

You can sign a petition to help save the service here.