A SICK and disabled man was left waiting for hours to be taken to and from hospital when a patient transport service failed to arrive on two occasions in two weeks.

The patient from Tisbury and his wife said the incompetence and lack of professional conduct from Arriva Transport Solutions and its staff caused them a “great deal of distress”.

The couple, who do not wish to be named, said on one occasion earlier this month the company had told them to be ready three hours in advance of the journey.

The man was ready and waiting, in his wheelchair, for the transport but it never arrived.

As a result, he missed his hospital appointment with the consultant meaning a delay in any possible future medical support.

On another occasion, when returning home after six weeks of treatment at the hospital and hospice, the man had to stay an extra night when the transport company booked it seven hours later than sought, at 9.40pm.

When it came the next day, it was over an hour late and, according to the patient’s wife, staff were “extremely reluctant” to transport him.

She said: “They only agreed to do so when a member of the hospice staff agreed to escort him.

“When finally my husband was brought into the house, the male operative’s actual words were: ‘There, that’s my job done’, and took no further part in helping my husband into bed,” she said.

“He was not empathetic or supportive and certainly gave the impression he would rather have been elsewhere.

“The whole affair thoroughly upset my husband as he had waited all the previous day to come home, as had I, and also had to experience the unnecessary unpleasant attitude of Arriva staff, when they did finally bring him home.”

Andrew Cullen, national head of patient transport services at Arriva, apologised to the couple for distress caused, saying they would reassure the patient of the actions being taking to ensure any future patient transport he requires is carried out in a “caring and timely manner”.

He said: “We successfully carry out hundreds of patient transport journeys every day and a recent Care Quality Commission report praised the care and dedication of our frontline ambulance crews. However we accept that on this occasion we did not meet the standards required and understand the impact this has had on the patient.”