The future of a volunteer car scheme that provides patients with transport to medical appointments has been safeguarded this week after it received a bumper grant fund.
Killin and District Volunteer Car Scheme (KDVCS) offers a door-to-door car service to residents of the village and the surrounding areas who find it difficult to use public transport to access NHS and other services which support and maintain their health and wellbeing.
The group this week received £8,650 from the National Lottery Awards for All Scotland fund. The group will use the funding to continue to provide their community transport scheme which covers rural Stirling.
KDVCS organiser Don Fraser welcomed the award. He said: “We’re very grateful for the funding provided by the Big Lottery Awards for All grant, which will significantly contribute to our ongoing running costs into 2023.
“As a result, the majority of the fund will go directly toward subsidising our passenger fees, while allowing us to pay our volunteer drivers the HMRC rate for actual running expenses of their vehicles, including repairs, servicing, depreciation and fuel.
“A small amount will go towards the maintenance of our administration and social media, while the rest will be used for training and advisory sessions with the drivers, as well as ensuring that they are equipped appropriately.”
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He continued: “Personally, I find it extremely sad that despite there being so many travel cards available to people in Scotland to use on rail and bus routes, including charity-operated ones, the government fails to recognise and remunerate car schemes.
“There are severe gaps in public and patient ambulance services, leaving some of the most vulnerable people in our communities without access to ambulance transport.
“We also have to charge for journeys essential to the health and wellbeing of our passengers despite they have travel cards, whilst car schemes remain disregarded by these schemes.”
The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “This project, delivered by Killin and District Volunteer Car Scheme, is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others.
“It’s all thanks to National Lottery players that we can help give charities and community groups throughout Scotland greater certainty during challenging times.”
Trossachs and Teith Tory Councillor Martin Earl added: “This volunteer scheme has become an essential service for people needing transport to appointments in Killin and the surrounding area. This award is crucial for them to keep delivering it and the National Lottery deserve to be commended for recognising that.
“Since NHS Forth Valley changed their criteria for those that would be eligible to get transport they effectively cut off many people from these rural areas. There should never be a need for such a scheme but it is to the credit of everyone involved that they stepped in when needed.”
The scheme was launched in November 2018.
In May last year, we told how KDVCS issued a rallying call for more volunteers to come forward to allow the service to continue.
At that time, the scheme had three volunteers, but issued an appeal for more to step forward and chip in as the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions continued and the hospital services got back on track with outpatient clinics and procedures.
