A DYING woman, 94, was denied travel by a private non-emergency medical transport because her wheelchair is not crash tested.
Sheila Sedge was left in her wheelchair outside her home in Sommerfield Road, Malvern, having missed an urgent appointment for palliative radiotherapy.
Daughter Val Sedge-Jones said her mum is dying of cancer and “doesn’t need to be messed around” after being refused travel by E-zec because it would 'invalidate its insurance'.
The company said it would transport her for a future appointment but only by stretcher.
Mrs Sedge-Jones said: "My mum says she prefers being in a wheelchair to being treated like a parcel to be delivered in a stretcher.
“My mum is 94 dying with womb and breast cancer.
“She doesn’t need to be messed around, she doesn’t need the added pressure.”
WHEELCHAIR: A woman has complained about the service of a non emergency patient transport service. Picture: Getty Images
“My mum rang me and said they had left her sat in her wheelchair,” she said.
“She has been taken in the chair several times before and no issues have ever been raised.
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“They told her they would return later, but left her. I had to ring (her carers) to basically rescue her.
“She said E-zec told her they couldn’t hoist her from the wheelchair into the bed.
“They don’t do hoists at all, which seems ridiculous to me - they should be trained to do that.”
Mrs Sedge-Jones claimed E-zec said it would be invalidating its insurance to pick her up, but it should have been raised when booking.
She claimed her mum has been taken to numerous appointments at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch by E-zec over the last few years without any issues.
Mrs Sedge-Jones added it was not the only time E-zec had left her mum down.
The transportation failed to arrive in December and on another occasion in May E-zec turned up but at the time of her appointment.
Mark Rawlings, E-zec's regional manager for Hereford and Worcester said: "The safety of all our service users is paramount and decisions are always made after assessing risk, with their wellbeing in mind.
"We cannot comment on individual cases, however E-zec has robust procedures in place to investigate any issues raised by patients or their families.
"The outcome of any investigation is shared with the service user, and where appropriate their family, to address concerns raised."
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