Impact report: Reducing inequalities through travel support at Birmingham Children’s Hospital

Following our initial investigation into the transport support scheme provided by Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Foundation Trust (BWC) – which offers free bus, train and parking tickets – 18,433 families have now benefitted from this intervention since the first report last year.

Families identified as living in the most deprived areas of Birmingham were eligible for the scheme and directly contacted with an offer of support, as they were most at risk of not attending appointments, often due to concerns about the cost of travel.

1,333 families took part in Healthwatch Birmingham’s new report, which found that:

• 100% were from the most deprived areas of Birmingham.
• 65% described their financial situation as ‘really struggling’ or ‘just getting by’.
• Those who described their financial situation as ‘really struggling’ or ‘just getting by’ found transport intervention beneficial because:

            – It made travelling to the appointment affordable (71%).

            – Reduced stress and anxiety about travel costs (76%).

            – It ensured that they did not miss their appointment (74%).

• 25% indicated that they had a disability and/or a long term condition respectively. Of these, 77% described their financial situation as ‘really struggling’ or ‘just getting by’.

BWC has reduced the non-attendance rate among families from deprived areas from 22% to 4%, ensuring those most likely to experience health inequalities due to income, ethnicity or disability can receive the treatment they need.

The scheme has also allowed BWC to identify more appointments that could not be attended in advance and offer these slots to others, thus also reducing waiting times for some families who did not receive direct support.