Busaholic
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 7 Jun 2014
- Messages
- 14,158
Treliske Hospital is now very badly served by buses from Truro centre and Truro Station, in particular. Only two services per hour now go into hospital grounds, excepting Park and Ride buses which are only available for those parking their cars at Langarth or Tregurra. Even the buses passing along the dual carriageway nearby are much diminished in frequency: the T1 and T2 with a joint 15 minute frequency replaced the 14 and 18 at 10 minute intervals. The last time I travelled by bus from the station I waited fifteen minutes, and then three buses were all scheduled at the stop at 11.11, which included the sole PCB journey to Truro College, which DOES call in at the hospital, and which I availed myself of.
My point is that many people visiting Treliske for out-patient appointments in particular may not have car access, or have conditions which preclude driving, and don't wish to impose on family or friends to drive them there. I'm such a person, although there are occasions when I've asked friends, and been very grateful. If you're less mobile for any reason, by the time you've got off the bus on the dual carriageway, crossed both carriageways and then found the most direct pedestrian route to the main wing, which is not signposted and involves accessing a car park via a mud path, you've walked a quarter mile and, by the time you've found your department in the hospital, on whichever floor, you've probably walked another quarter mile, or half mile if you've been unfortunate enough to go to the Tower Block.
I've already decided to cancel my hospital appointment next Thursday at Treliske, even though it's with a surgeon. I can't drive at present and, with two separate groin hernias now confirmed (I'm hopeful of getting one fixed next month), a medical condition I've lived with for years which happened to come up on a scan I can probably continue to live with til the end of my days. My MS plus the hernias are my current priority, and I'll ignore anything else that's not life-threatening. If the bus I'd likely catch took me to the Trelawny Wing, or if I could afford taxis at both ends of my trip then I'd probably go. I can't hang round at that draughty stop at Truro Station waiting for one of the hospital buses. One of the EMPTY PR1 buses that pass that way at 10.30 a.m. ish should stop. I'm seriously thinking of getting under the skin of Cornwall Council on this if they don't change their attitude. A clock face quarter-hourly service might be sufficient to appease me, though I'd be working for all those who need to use the services, including staff at the hospital. I've got form!I couldn't agree more with you really, if I remember tightly WG was brilliant at serving the hospital grounds, during First Devon and Cornwall days they were pretty decent but when they went over to Kernow First sort of forgot about the Trelawny Wing bus stop, use to catch WG services all the time to Treliske when my brother was in hospital back in 2013/14, but recently my mum has had appointment after appointment at Treliske and trying to get a bus to make your appointment is certainly a challenge, as we both have the direct debit monthly M-Tickets so can only catch T1/T2/47/87 and the T3 when it is running
Hopefully Kernow's new commercial services will include some services serving the Hospital after the 47 moves over to GCB, if everyone could use the PR1 service, it wouldn't be a problem, but as you said someone who isn't the most able walker, will certainly struggle from the lay by, and I always seem to see the T1/T2 come together and then a 47 or 87 behind them, then hundreds of PR1's until the next Tinner, so the frequency certainly need to be sorted