A MUCH-NEEDED service is appealing for drivers to help take residents who have no alternative means of transport to hospital and doctors appointments.

Knutsford Good Neighbours urgently needs more volunteer drivers to come forward and provide valuable assistance to those who cannot travel to medical appointments by other means.

The service is currently available Monday to Thursday between 11am and 3pm, in return for a donation.

Gaynor Bowerbank said: “We deal with a lot of elderly people and disabled people, but we also get younger people contacting us who don’t drive and need to get to hospital appointments.

“Before lockdown, we had three to four pages of drivers which made it much easier to find people to cover things; when we came out of lockdown, it went down to just three quarters of one page.

“We’ve also had to cut our days down to four days a week instead of five because of the lack of volunteers.

“Each time we’re answering the phone, we’re having to turn people down and it’s awful because we know what it’s going to cost them to get transport elsewhere.

“We’re a not-for-profit service and any money left over goes back to the community, so everybody benefits; it’s always nice to give to another cause.”

Knutsford Good Neighbours is looking for both drivers and coordinators (who take phone calls) to join its team of volunteers.

“Drivers use their own vehicles and double check with their insurance company first,” Gaynor explained.

“They get recompensed so much a mile for the fuel and a little for wear and tear.

“We have a contract with Macclesfield Hospital where we register the vehicle so they can park for free, and we have badges at the different surgeries for free parking.

“If people do have to pay, they get that refunded.

“Coordinators take telephone calls in their own home, take down a person’s details and where they need to go, and find a driver.

“Drivers are given these details and they will contact the person to let them know of pick-up times.

“They are given a badge in case people question their identity.”

If you can help Knutsford Good Neighbours, call the main telephone number on 01565 631262.