Features / Southmead Hospital
On board the UK’s only hospital buggy
Upon entering the Brunel building at Southmead Hospital, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in a modern, glass-and-steel airport departure lounge.
There is a check-in station, seating angled towards screens that constantly update, and the different areas of the hospital that lead off the huge, 280-metre-long central atrium are known as ‘gates’.
And, just like in an airport, with a low bleeping sound, an electric buggy approaches a group of patients, swings a very neat three-point turn, and pulls to a stop. Smiley volunteer driver Graham Daynes hops out to help everyone embark, and then the electric engine whirs back into life and he whisks them smoothly down through the concourse.
is needed now More than ever
“It’s a very pleasant ride, you get a nice little breeze!” Graham says as we roll through the hospital, slowing for the melee of people who stride purposefully across the space or wander slowly, some hindered by crutches. “You just have to be patient. We have the beeping noise, but people don’t always notice the buggy coming. If someone is in front of us, we just wait.”
Graham has been driving the electric buggy for almost two years, the length of time the service has been running. He is one of 130 ‘Move Makers’ – volunteers who help patients check in, find the ‘gate’ for their clinic, offer them a ride on the buggy or transport via wheelchair, and even show them where to get the bus home from after their appointment.
Southmead is the only hospital in the country with a buggy like this to transport patients and visitors. It recently carried its 100,000th passenger – John Morgan, who has since used the buggy regularly, after spinal surgery left him unable to walk long distances. The buggy carries around 250 passengers each day, and has driven a total distance of 7,000 miles
“People are just so grateful for the buggy service,” explains Jill Randall, Move Maker Manager. “When they come into this great big, wonderful building, it can be very overwhelming, and anyone who comes into hospital can be quite anxious and apprehensive. To offer the service that the Move Makers do, especially with the buggy to get them to their destination, is reassuring and helpful.
“There’s no limit on our time – we say to people, ‘We’ll walk with you, and we’ll stay with you.’ We get some lovely thank you letters and feedback from people saying ‘thank you very much’, and it sometimes brings you to tears. It’s absolutely lovely.”
The £26,500 buggy was funded by the Southmead Hospital Charity and Southmead Hospital League of Friends.
“We had a year in the atrium without the buggy, and it became clear it was going to be a piece of equipment that we’d require,” Jill continues. “We have 20-30 wheelchairs to transport people, but by 11am, they are often all gone. Now, the buggy is there for people who have mobility problems. It’s an invaluable service.
“It was overwhelming to reach the 100,000 passenger milestone, and to know that we have taken that many passengers in such a short space of time. It’s really exciting and lovely to see how grateful they are.”
Read more: The rise of the robots
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
