Horowhenua StarHorowhenua Health Shuttle is run by volunteers and takes hundreds of customers to Palmerston North health services each month, which has taken a toll on the one van they used.
Now, they have two new $150,000 vans in service thanks to fundraising. One van has been up and running for a month. The other is being sign-written and is expected to enter service in March.
It was bought thanks to a donation by the Horowhenua New Zealand Trust.
The shuttle makes five trips a day to health facilities in Palmerston North. It has been run by volunteers since its inception in 2008.
Lynn Shepherd has used the service for 15 years and is full of praise for the team. About 50 volunteers are on the roster, so that each trip has a driver, and a support worker who checks people in, and helps them into and out of the van safely.
Horowhenua’s Health Shuttle has many dedicated volunteers. They include, from left, Marta Buchanan (secretary), Regan Hirst (employee), Ian Nightingale (longest serving employee), Lynn Shepherd (customer for 25 years), Robyn Pescini (driver), Tony Clifford (boss).
Photo Janine Baalbergen
Each van comes with a hoist for wheelchairs, too, and booster seats for children. They also return equipment patients receive from the hospital. If they have the room they can also accommodate people visiting family or friends in hospital.
However, booking a ride is necessary and you need to be quick. A day before the hospital or GP visit might see you miss out.
“Book a seat immediately when you have your appointment,” says Regan Hirst, who has been manning the office and phones for the past two months.
Horowhenua’s Health Shuttle is a community service.
“When the local hospital closed in 2008 the community was promised a new health centre as well as a transport service to Palmerston North, but the latter never happened, so community-minded locals came up with the idea for a health shuttle,” says secretary Marta Buchanan.
The service gets funding from the health board for rides for dialysis patients, but the rest comes from funding from other places, such as the One Foundation.
Their biggest week involved transportation of 190 people, but “usually it’s around 150,” Regan says.
Drivers are in constant contact with the office to ensure a smooth ride for everyone.
“We go to any medical facility in Palmerston North, not just the hospital,” long-term driver Ian Nightingale says. “We can get you to any places, to any clinic, for eyes, teeth, acupuncture, GPs, or the rehab clinic.”
He says each trip takes about four hours. Ian has been involved from the very beginning. He started as a driver and is now a support worker, helping once a week.
“I find it a very satisfying thing to do.”
New drivers and support workers are always needed and if you’re interested in doing a run or two a week, you will have interviews, police vetting, medicals and driver assessments.
The team handles a lot of hospital discharges, too, and word of mouth is the best way for them to acquire new volunteers.
“All you need is a licence to drive a car. As our rides are by donation we don’t need a commercial licence to function,” Marta says.
The service is free, as long as you can get to the Liverpool Street medical centre. There are pick-up points in Shannon and Foxton.
Everyone has the option to donate some money, voluntarily.
“People give what they can. For some $5 is a lot of money.”
However, it’s much cheaper than a taxi or even parking at the hospital.
Marta spends a lot of time applying for funding as donations don’t cover the service.
“We are lucky to save a lot of generous donors.”
The team often do extras, such as rides for rest home residents to view the lights in the annual Harvey Bowler Festival of Lights just before Christmas.
They drive people home afterwards, go past the supermarket, or pay a bus fare, so someone can get home.
Lynn tells of someone who needed a prescription and could get it for free at the hospital, but would have held up the ride for more than an hour. The driver went past a local provider and paid for the medication himself, so no-one had to wait too long.
The Horowhenua Community Health Shuttle departs from the health centre on Liverpool St in Levin at 6.15am, 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Ring for bookings 06 368 5519 between 8am and 3pm.
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