WHEN an eligibility review was announced for outpatients in need of transport to hospital appointments in the Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, it was predicted that those living in some of North Yorkshire’s most remote communities would be the hardest hit.

The new system came into force on October 1, and just over three weeks later, we are reporting on the case of a cancer patient in his 80s who has been left unable to attend an appointment for chemotherapy because of the changes.

Perhaps even more shocking is the revelation that the man has also missed two appointments for regular injections to manage a degenerative eye disease, and has since gone blind in one eye.

The CCG says it will investigate and “will look into any case where there are concerns that the application of the criteria or appeals process has not been correctly followed”. How long this will take is not clear. While the inquiry is held, the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed, this gentleman and others like him face an ongoing battle to access the transport they desperately need.

The new algorithm being used by the CCG to decide eligibility is clearly not up to scratch, and is failing patients living vast distances from James Cook, the Friarage or Darlington Memorial hospitals.

The CCG must suspend this system as a matter of urgency and carry out a proper, meaningful consultation on the impact.