The Tūrangi Transport Group (TTG) have been in existence for around 25 years. We have recently undergone a rebranding and decided on a name, Southern Lake Health Shuttle.
We have a current contract with Lakes DHB to transport Tūrangi residents, who meet some basic criteria, to out of town medical related appointments. These medical appointments include Optical, Audiologists, X-Rays & Scans, Podiatry, Chiropractor, Physiotherapy, Dental and so on, anything medical related.
We have a central 0800 phone number which will take the call from the patient or the relevant medical staff and allocate jobs to us on a daily basis. These jobs typically come to us as a spreadsheet at about 4:30pm.
The job is then allocated to a driver (drivers, who are all volunteers, usually drive on a particular day of the week). Jobs are allocated to drivers, combining trips where possible. Pick-up times are often organised so that drivers from Southern Lake Health Shuttle and Aroha Mai (Taupō – Rotorua transport) meet at designated times at Taupō Hospital. These times are the Tpo-Rot times under Aroha Mai in the Green on the Lakes DHB Transport Service flyer. Clients are then informed of their pick-up times and driver‘s name either by phone or by visiting them in their home.
Southern Lake Health Shuttle pick their clients up from their home, deliver them to their appointment or to Taupō Hospital (if their appointment is there or if we need to meet ongoing transport) and either wait for them to bring them home or complete scheduled trips and then pick them up at a mutually agreed time/place.
Where prudence declares, we will make informed decisions, often cleared with Lakes DHB, and transport clients direct to Rotorua, Waikato Hospital and/or even Tauranga Hospital. We then wait for the patients if possible and bring them home after treatment. This is particularly important when patients are undergoing cancer treatment, lengthy treatments, or involve small children or elderly citizens. Often the scheduled transport times do not coincide with appointment times and lead to an unscheduled stay over or extremely long days.
Our service is FREE to all who qualify for it (most people qualify), is very individualised and is highly rated by those who utilise our service.
Our 0800 number is 0800 768 537 and we encourage all suppliers to the medical industry to direct patients here to see if they qualify for our FREE transport service.