In April, I found myself in a situation of having no way to get to Wairau hospital and back from an eye injection appointment. My husband was in Nelson and I did not like to rely on friends.
What to do? I then remembered the St John Health Shuttle, left a phone message – you have to give them 24 hours’ notice – of when I needed to be at the appointment, and when I would be returning home.
I got a message soon after to say that I was all booked in. That night I also got a phone call to tell me exactly what time I would be collected.
Two shuttle volunteers came to pick me up. One was the driver and the other to assist me if I needed help in and out of the vehicle. They were both so welcoming.
They dropped me off to my appointment in plenty of time and I gave them an approximate time of when I would be finished.
Appointment concluded, I met the team outside the front entrance of the hospital and they took me home. They advised that sometimes there is a bit of a wait if someone else is due around the same time to take home.
Being a volunteer service with payment by donation, I gave $20 as I thought a taxi would have been over double that price.
I will use this service again if I have a need; it was door to door with very empathetic volunteers that made me feel safe.
Related: Transport issues
