Charges for NHS non-emergency transport may be on the way.

Clinical Commissioning Groups including Wiltshire have been carrying out surveys to judge support for changes to the way passenger transport is funded. The questions in the surveys have been loaded to encourage responses which reject the concept of letting people who need non-emergency transport get to hospital for free.

Wiltshire CCG currently spends £2.1million per year on the service. This includes the troubled 'Arriva' contract. In West Wiltshire the Hopper service, initiated by the old West Wilts District Council, was axed by Wiltshire Council.

Of 233 responses to the Wiltshire CCG survey only 34 came from people who actually used the service.

On the possibility of starting to charge for the service the CCG says, "this would be a fundamental change to the current NHS mandate to provide services free at the point of need, but may be worthy of further consideration."

Report in January Health Scrutiny agenda, item 8