Pensioner claims 'disgusting' bus service has resulted in her ill husband missing doctor’s appointments

Gwen Hughes, of Norwich Road, in Ronkswood, claims the bus she catches is ‘continuously late’ and has meant her 70-year-old husband, Martin, has missed doctors’ appointments due to the bus not showing up.

First Bus has said congestion on the hospital site and lack of enforcement on bus lanes has not helped and has asked Worcestershire County Council and the acute trust to deal with matters.

A spokesperson for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “Every effort is made to ease traffic congestion and keep traffic flowing through our sites. We recognise that this can be difficult during peak times and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Mrs Hughes, aged 65 said: “I feel angry. It is a disgusting service and the buses are so irregular. My husband has missed two of his doctor’s appointments because the bus hasn’t turned up. My husband is an ill man. He needs injections every fortnight, so it is important he makes these appointments. He can’t miss them.”

Mrs Hughes said the bus timetable shows that the buses should run every 15 minutes, however she claims that she has waited hours before.

She added: “Sometimes the bus does not come for hours. It seems to completely miss us. We sometimes have to walk up the hill to catch a bus from Newtown Road, or catch a taxi. Me and my husband have got problems with our legs, so we struggle to walk far.”

Rob Hughes, head of operations at First Worcester said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused with the reliability of our routes 38/38X but since the middle of last year the punctuality and reliability statistics for these two routes have shown a worrying decline.

“Considerable and unpredictable congestion on the hospital site, lack of enforcement by the local authority of the bus lanes on Newtown Road and Lowesmoor and lengthy delays at the foot of Rainbow Hill have contributed to a most unacceptable quality of service.

“We are urging the local authorities to quickly deal with these matters and for the NHS to allow our buses unrestricted and free flowing access around the Hospital.

“They seem like reasonable requests to us on behalf of the many passengers who rely on these routes and rightly expect a reliable service. Failure to do so will cause a question mark to be raised over the future operation of the service.”

Councillor Alan Amos, cabinet member with responsibility for Highways at Worcestershire County Council said: “We have already been discussing these issues with First Bus and are working with them to deal with the matters raised.”

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