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JOYCE STANDING: My issue that I have is how you get to the Primary Care Trust building,
Dr Piper House, by public transport?
When I first rang the PCT and asked how I would get there they told me they had a very
good car park. When I expressed that I didn’t drive they said but every taxi driver knows
where we are.
Well I’m afraid everybody can’t afford taxi fares and if you are bad on your feet
it is a long way from the centre of the town to get to Dr Piper House that is off Gladstone
Street.
KEN ROSS - DARLINGTON PCT'S HEAD OF IMPROVEMENT: With regard to transport to Dr Piper House
that is an issue that will actually be addressed within the planning of the proposed new health
centre.
We are aware that there is no direct bus route there and that it is quite a walk for a lot
of residents who are perhaps less mobile, find it difficult, or don’t have a car.
Obviously within our overall remit of trying to help reduce car use we are not actually
encouraging people to come by car unless absolutely necessary.
To address this we are doing a couple of things - one is talking with our colleagues in Darlington
Borough Council who are in discussion with the bus company Arriva, about the possibility
of looking at directing bus routes around the area closer to Dr Piper House.
The other thing we are doing, with our colleagues in County Durham PCT, is looking at the whole
agenda for commissioning transport for health looking at alternative transport solutions
to get people to health services.
Another alternative that we have, with the new proposed health centre, is the possibility
of outreach services for example there may be a requirement, if it comes out in the consultation,
for the use of home visits or other services to be provided within local communities which
would then actually negate the need for travel to Dr Piper House.