Alton Community Care
01420 541520
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Alton Community Care is a volunteer transport service for people attending medical appointments who do not have their own transport and are unable to access public transport.

What trips are covered?
We provide transport to healthcare appointments including:

  • Clinic appointments: GP, dentist, optician, podiatrist, physiotherapist
  • Hospital appointments in Alton, Basingstoke, Winchester, Farnham and sometimes further afield
  • Cardiac Rehab

What does it cost?
Our drivers are volunteers who use their own cars. We suggest passengers make a donation to cover their mileage costs and advise the suggested donation for the trip.

How do I request a journey?
Please contact 01420 541520 but do please give as much notice as possible.

 Booking your transport 
   
  

We are always seeking volunteers to help with this worthy cause.

We need as many DRIVERS as possible in order to fulfil our bookings.

Could you be a driver for us?
You give your time but we cover your fuel expenses.
Use your own car to collect passengers from their home, take them to appointments, and return them home.
You choose where, when and how often you drive.
Most of our journeys are local, but we cover hospitals as far away as Southampton.

We also need COORDINATORS to take the telephone bookings.

Could you be a coordinator for us?
You give your time, but we cover all your incidental expenses.

 Volunteers 
   
  

 

To book transport, simply ring our coordinator on... 01420 541520

We do need as much notice as possible. It is best if you can phone during the week before your appointment.

The coordinator will ask for your name, address, phone number and the date, time and place of your appointment.

You will also be asked if you have any particular needs (see below for information on special needs).

The coordinator will then arrange for one of our volunteers to collect you, take you to your appointment, wait for you or return at an arranged time, and then take you safely back home.

All our drivers and coordinators are volunteers, giving their time freely.

We will do our utmost to find a driver for your journey, but do bear in mind that occasionally we simply may not have enough drivers available.

In severe weather we may have to provide a restricted service or cancel some journeys.

Each driver has an Identity Card, ask to see it if you are unsure.

Our Drivers may be able to assist you but they are not trained carers.

Some of the things we need to know about are...

  • Difficulty with walking
  • Do you use a stick, walking frame or wheel chair?
    Wheelchair users should be able to move from chair to car unaided or be accompanied by a helper.
  • Will you need help getting from the car to your appointment?
  • Difficulty with seeing or hearing
  • Do you have a disabled badge? - if so, please bring it along to your appointment, as it will assist parking

We do not charge a fare, but we do suggest you make a donation to help cover our costs.

If you use our transport service, the journey can be free where necessary but without donations we would not be able to continue providing this service.

If you wish to make a donation we will suggest a level of contribution that would help to cover our costs for that journey.

As an example, for local journeys within Alton we suggest £3, and for Basingstoke Hospital £15 (as at June 2019).

Click here for suggested donations.

We accept HCC Travel Vouchers.

Our Drivers do not accept tips.

Note: Some medical conditions - Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy for example - may entitle you to free Hospital Transport (provided by the hospital). Ask your GP if you qualify.

Receipts from Gift Aid can supplement the donations we receive.

If you are a taxpayer, we can recover tax that you have paid on any cash donations you make. This is at no extra cost to you.

We will normally contact new passengers about Gift Aid but if you have not heard from us and wish to take part please contact giftaid@altoncare.org.uk or call the coordinator.

If you have signed up for Gift Aid with us and find that increased tax allowances mean that you no longer pay tax, please let us know so that we can remove you from our Gift-Aid records.

More information about Gift Aid can be found at the HMRC website... http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/giving/gift-aid.htm

For certain conditions - Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy for example - you may be entitled to free Hospital Transport (provided by the hospital). Ask your GP about this.

If you do not get free transport, the NHS will help those on certain benefits with expenses associated with treatment.

If you qualify you can reclaim travel costs to hospital.

To claim for travel to hospital you need the following documents...

  • a document showing your entitlement to benefit
  • your appointment letter
  • a receipt provided by our driver for your donation to our Charity

Hospitals have their own policies and you may only get a partial refund.

You can normally be reimbursed on the day by going to the Hospital cashier.

If that is not possible you can claim by post by using form HC5 available from the Hospital or the DSS.

Alton Community Care covers approximately the area shown on this map. Within this area there are also some village groups (shown in colour, with details below). If you have a local village group, do try them first, but we will try to help if they cannot.

 


Information for passengers
 
Making a booking
The drivers
Special needs
What does it cost?
Gift-Aid
Help with costs
Area covered
Binsted Bentley Froyle & District
Voluntary Care Group
01420 520169
Bordon & Whitehill VCS
07596 701312
Medstead Voluntary Care Group
Duty Coordinator - 0845 4630546
Four Marks Care
Duty Coordinator - 01420 564435
www.fourmarkscare.org.uk
Kings World Care Group
01420 479000
London journeys

Journeys to London, as well as being lengthy, are also affected by the Congestion Charge and/or the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge, which we ask you to cover.

If you do use our one of our cars for a journey to central London, the suggested donation is £48, with an additional cost of £11.50 for the London Congestion Charge, and possibly a ULEZ charge of £12.50.

If you have a Blue Badge you are exempt from the Congestion Charge, but you must register with Transport for London (TfL) in advance.

You can then tell TfL the car registration number for the day of the journey. The coordinator will give you this number. TfL charges a single £10 fee for the initial registration.

To register with TfL go to http://www.tfl.gov.uk

Note: Free Journeys: many London hospitals provide free transport for medically entitled patients. Contact your GP first to see if you are entitled - the Hospital may also be able to help.

Minors

We do provide transport for minors but a responsible adult must accompany anyone under 18 years of age.

If this is not possible, discuss the matter with our coordinator - we may be able to help.

You are expected to supply and fit any seats for minors or infants.

Data privacy

When you book a journey, we record personal data as necessary to provide this service:

  • name, address, telephone number and any special requirements (walking frame, wheelchair etc)
  • contact details of a relative or friend in case of emergencies
  • financial contributions, including Gift Aid, as required by financial regulations

ACC complies with our obligations under GDPR by keeping your personal information safe and up to date.

Further details of our Data Privacy Policy are available here

 


Information for volunteers

We are a charity which, since 1975, has provided transport for those who find it difficult to get to medical appointments.

Drivers

We are always looking for more volunteer drivers!

Volunteer driving is a great way to support your local community at times to suit you.

You use your own car to collect passengers from home, take them to appointments, and return them home.

Most of our journeys are local, but we cover hospitals as far away as Southampton.

However, YOU choose where, when and how often you drive.

You give your time but we cover your fuel expenses (currently at 45p per mile).

Almost all motor insurance companies cover volunteer driving at no extra cost.

You have access to our computer system to monitor your journeys and claim your expenses.

You can receive emails or text messages to confirm details of upcoming journeys.

Please note: references and Enhanced DBS checks are a required part of our recruitment process.

For more information about becoming a volunteer Care driver in your spare time, please call the Duty Coordinator on 01420 541520

Coordinators

A Coordinator is the first telephone point of contact for passengers seeking to arrange a journey.

You operate from your home on a rota for two or three days a month.

Calls to the Alton Care telephone number are automatically transferred to your number.

You take details from the caller, and later use our comprehensive computer system to allocate a driver.

You give your time, but we cover all your incidental expenses.

Please note: references and Enhanced DBS checks are a required part of our recruitment process.

For more information about becoming a volunteer Care coordinator in your spare time, please call the Duty Coordinator on 01420 541520

 


Contact

Bookings can only be made by telephone
Contact our Duty Coordinator
01420 541520

Our Duty Coordinator can take calls between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday. If the coordinator is not immediately available, or at evenings and weekends, you can leave a message and we will ring you as soon as possible.

We do need enough notice to arrange your transport - at least 48 hours, but preferably the week before your appointment.

Email

This email address is for general enquiries only.
Bookings cannot be made by email.

info@altoncare.org.uk