Waiting for treatment

There is no need to contact us as we will be in touch if you are suitable to be offered Alternative Patient Choice, either via text message or letter. Offers to patients who have been waiting the longest will begin to go out from 31 October 2023 and will continue to be sent over the next 8 weeks. This is a big piece of work, so we do appreciate your patience and understanding.

If you have received an invitation and would be interested in moving hospital, please follow the web link or call the national helpline number contained in your letter/message. You will be asked to provide a few details and confirm how far you would be willing to travel, then someone will be in touch with more information and to let you know if an alternative regional hospital is able to see you more quickly.

Patients on waiting lists with Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust will be offered a choice of provider within the Humber and North Yorkshire region in the first instance; this catchment area does not cover places such as Doncaster or Lincoln which fall into different catchment areas (South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire respectively). If you wish to be treated more quickly but do not wish to take up an offer from within the Humber and North Yorkshire region, we can look to other providers further afield and in different catchment areas, but this is no guarantee that your preferred hospital will be able to treat you any more quickly.

If you register to transfer your care but a place cannot be found for you at a different hospital, you will simply stay on our waiting list and we will offer you an appointment just as soon as possible. You will not ‘lose your place’ on our list.

No. If you decide to be seen at another provider, all your other appointments associated with this particular episode of care – e.g. scans, pre-assessment and follow-ups – must all take place at the new hospital too.

If you receive an offer but don’t respond, you will simply stay on our waiting list and we will offer you an appointment just as soon as possible. You will not ‘lose your place’ on our list.

There is no time limit on your decision, as we understand some people may need more time than others to think about the offer.

Text messages will always come from NHS NLaG and will be worded as follows:

This is an important message from Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust. We are sorry that you have been waiting over 40 weeks for your [type of] appointment/procedure. You may wish to consider moving hospital to receive your treatment sooner. If you wish to be considered to move hospitals please submit your details via www.pidmas.nhs.uk.  If you need support to complete this please contact the NHS National Helpline on 0345 4506166

If you are already eligible to claim through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, for example, if you are in receipt of income support, jobseeker’s allowance or pension credit, then you may able to claim for help with the costs of attending an alternative hospital for treatment. Full details of the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme can be found on the NHS website.

Some patients who need either physical or emotional help to travel will also be able to access Patient Transport Services (PTS) for help with getting to and from medical appointments. In order to be deemed ‘suitable’ for PTS, one or more of the following must apply:

• Your medical condition requires the skills or support of PTS staff throughout your journey
• The condition of your health might suffer if you were to travel by other means
• Your medical condition affects your ability to access healthcare without PTS.

To find out if you are suitable for PTS:
People living in North Lincolnshire or East Yorkshire should call 0300 330 2000, where PTS is provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service.
People living in North East Lincolnshire should call HT Group on 0808 164 3030.
In both cases, you will be asked for appointment details and will need to answer a few questions to determine your suitability for non-emergency patient transport.
If you are not eligible for either PTS or the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, then unfortunately, as per national policy, travel costs are not able to be paid or reimbursed. Please remember, if you choose to move your care to another hospital to benefit from shorter waiting times, all of your associated follow-up appointments must also take place at the new hospital. Please think carefully and remember to take the issue of travel and transport costs into consideration.

Read a full set of FAQs around travel costs and PTS