Ellesmere Port & Bromborough MP demands answers after vulnerable patients left without NHS transport

Ellesmere Port and Bromborough MP, Justin Madders, is demanding urgent answers after vulnerable patients were suddenly told they no longer qualify for non-emergency ambulance transport.

The service is delivered by West Midlands Ambulance Service across Cheshire, Warrington and Wirral on behalf of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside. Mr Madders is still awaiting clarity about an apparent change in eligibility.

A blind constituent with mobility issues was reportedly told she was capable of making her own way to regular appointments in Manchester. A visually impaired widow says she was informed she no longer qualified for transport to her eye clinic.

Mr Madders, a former Shadow Health Minister, said:

“I’m furious that vulnerable patients have been abandoned like this. To withdraw a vital transport service with no notice is cruel and completely unacceptable.”

Local community transport providers have also reported a rise in calls from patients no longer able to access the non-emergency ambulance.

Blind transplant patient Joanne Roberts, 58, from Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port missed her latest appointment at Manchester Royal Infirmary after being denied transport – she understands because she was deemed technically capable of walking, albeit with a stick, even though she cannot see and needs assistance.

The former Marketing Manager said:

“Despite using transport services for visits to hospitals in the last 20 years without problems because I am blind, I learnt that I am no longer able to access this support. When contacting West Midlands Patient Transport, I was told that as I could walk, whether that be assisted or not, I could get to any hospital appointment on my own.

“I am totally blind and have various serious health problems. Despite all of this, I am now expected to get all the way to Manchester. Exactly how am I gonna do this?”

Mrs Roberts, a grandmother, whose husband Dave is also registered disabled, said it had been implied she would be able to access the transport service if she was prepared to use a wheelchair.

She added:

“Being blind, my life is full of humiliation, and I find this idea deplorable and very discriminatory,”

Partially sighted constituent, Annette, 68, from Great Sutton, Ellesmere Port, who relies on eye injections at the Countess of Chester Hospital every few weeks to preserve her limited vision, has also been told she no longer meets the criteria.

A grandma and former librarian, she explained:

“Apparently from November 1st the only patients they will accommodate are if you are in a wheelchair or stretcher or receiving oncology treatment, not sure about dialysis.”

The widow, who preferred not to give her full name, added:

“I cannot use public transport as I can’t see well enough to safely cross a road. This service was a godsend, a safe way for me to get to and from the hospital.”

Mr Madders said he is still being blocked from getting answers:

“I’m being stone-walled. West Midlands Ambulance Service seems to be ignoring my questions altogether and NHS Cheshire and Merseyside sent through an evasive position statement that did not address my points.

“It seems the local NHS is trying to pretend this isn’t happening, well it is, and they need to urgently address the situation.”

He concluded:

“If people can’t get to appointments, their conditions deteriorate, leading to higher costs for the NHS down the line. It makes no moral or economic sense.”

Here is the position statement NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, sent to Mr Madders in response to his enquiry about the apparent change in eligibility criteria for the transport service:

The current provider of non-emergency patient transport services (West Midlands Ambulance Service) is contracted until 31 March 2026. In line with a regional procurement delay for a new North West regional non-emergency patient transport services contract, mobilisation of a newly-procured contract is currently planned for April 2027.

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is actively working to secure interim continuity arrangements for 2026-27 via escalation with both West Midlands Ambulance Service and NHS England.

Our priority is ensuring service continuity and we are pursuing all viable interim options - following appropriate governance and with NHS England oversight - to ensure that a service is available for patients from 1st April 2026 through to the start of a new contract.

Up to 31^st March 2026, West Midlands Ambulance Service remains the contracted provider. We are seeking and expect assurance that all eligible patients - especially time-critical cohorts such as renal and oncology - continue to be transported in line with the national eligibility framework.

Pictured - Non-emergency ambulances parked up at the Countess of Chester Hospital.