Wiltshire Council is conducting yet another so-called 'consultation' about the future of the RUH Hopper service.
The WC Conservatives tried to axe the service earlier this year but back pedalled after a campaign by local residents.
Now they are having another try and here's their spin. So, here we go again. The Tories are likely to cut yet another service but will excuse themselves, no doubt, by making their almost obligatory annual claim of 'No council tax increases under a Conservative Wiltshire Council'. Spot on Jane Scott; no increases but little in the way of services either....
"Due to the reduction in government funding and pressures on other services the council runs, the council announced last year it was unable to continue to fund this service on its own.
Following discussions with its health partners, funding was found through the Better Care Fund to continue the services until the end of March 2016.
Since those discussions the council has been working hard to find a sustainable solution, however this might mean a reduced service and this consultation is helping to prepare for that.
The consultation is asking people and organisations about any impacts changes to the RUH Hopper service would have on them.
A questionnaire is available until 27 November via www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wiltshire-hopper-survey. Copies will also be available on the Hopper or by calling 0345 456 0100.
Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for transport, said: "We have made it very clear that we can no longer afford to run this service without the help of our partners and the people and organisations who benefit from the service.
"We know how valuable it is to many people in the community, and we are keen to work with them and our partners to help keep a service running."
The consultation asks what effect any changes would have on their journey to hospital, or on their organisation's activities or the people they represent. No decision will be made until the responses to the consultation have been considered, the impacts assessed, options investigated and funding secured.
Earlier this year Wiltshire Council, the Clinical Care Group (CCG), the RUH and GWH allocated money from the Better Care Fund to provide a service until the end of the current financial year (31 March 2016). There is also an agreement to prepare a case to seek further funding to keep the service running beyond this date, however this may well require a reduction in the annual subsidy to make it more affordable.
The Hopper currently provides a service to and from the hospital every hour on Monday to Fridays between 7.20am and 5.30pm, from a wide area of western Wiltshire including Warminster, Westbury, Trowbridge, Melksham, Corsham and Bradford on Avon.
It will pick up passengers on request from anywhere within its operating area, with bookings required to be made by at least 10am the day before travel.
Originally the service was jointly funded by Wiltshire Council, the NHS and the government. When funding from the government and the NHS ceased a few years later, Wiltshire Council continued to fund the service.
The council currently spends around £150,000 a year supporting it. With nearly 15,000 passenger journeys a year being made, the support per passenger trip works out at over £10."