Melksham’s transport charity clocks up 1,000 trips to RUH

The town’s charity providing local people with transport to and from medical appointments has clocked 1,000 trips to the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath this year.

The 1,000th journey was made by Melksham Link’s volunteer driver, Steve Weston, pictured, who took a resident to the new Dyson Centre at the RUH.

“There was some competition over who would be this driver as three other Link drivers were also taking clients to the RUH on the same day at almost the same time,” says chair Liz Rowley.

“The long-serving driver and Link treasurer Richard Clark was 998th, driver and Link chair Liz Rowley was 999th, whilst driver and webmaster Ian Argyle was 1,001st. For Steve, it was his 44th visit to the Bath hospital in 2024.”

This milestone means Link drivers have clocked 32,000 miles transporting local residents to Bath from Melksham since the start of the year. Last year, Link made 965 journeys to the RUH. “Reaching 1,000 journeys with two months of the year to go is a clear example of the increased demand for Link’s volunteer work,” says Liz.

Midway through October, Melksham Link has made 2,422 journeys overall to 100 different locations for 523 individual clients.

“Although the top ten of destinations that our clients wish to go to is dominated by journeys to Bath, local drives also figure prominently,” says Liz. “There were 202 journeys to the Campus, 163 to Spencer’s Leg Clinic, 129 to Spa Medical Centre, 88 to Giffords and 86 to Melksham Community Hospital. 

“Together, 668 journeys were made to these five local destinations, just over a quarter of all drives so far this year.”

This year, Melksham & District Link has also been celebrating its 30th anniversary.

At the recent annual general meeting, Liz Rowley thanked all the volunteers for their unstinting kindness and compassion.

“However, there have been a number of occasions when Link simply has not had enough drivers to satisfy demand,” explained Liz.

“Inevitably some days are so busy that we use all our drivers who have offered availability. We always try to say yes to our clients if possible. But on days when requests exceed available drivers, Melksham Link is stretched. So far this year there were three days when 20 drivers or more were on the road and 25 days when between 15 to 19 drivers were making journeys on a single day. 

“These are the days when, regrettably, we might have to say, ‘we have no driver,’ to the most recent requests.

“Link is always looking for new volunteers to help maintain its excellent service. Contact us to see if you can help. Speak to us on 07979 129052. Volunteering roles include driving, coordinating, or being part of the admin team that supports the scheme. Volunteering is a great way to stay active, meet new people and help vulnerable and isolated residents in the community.

“Our volunteers will be taking a break over the holiday period. We will not be taking requests for the period from 23rd December to 2nd January 2025

“And finally, some reminders to our clients or potential clients:

• Our phone line 07979 129052, is only open 9.00am-4.00pm, Monday to Friday.

• We only take clients to medical appointments if they have no other way of getting there.

• We need as much notice as possible when requesting a journey, ideally at least a week 

• We cannot take wheelchairs or very large folding walkers unless there is someone to accompany the client to lift the mobility aid in and out of the car. Our drivers are just drivers! 

• We rely solely on client donations. We do not receive any grants.”