A VITAL voluntary service which ferries patients to and from local hospitals is in danger of folding if a replacement driver-co-ordinator cannot be found. Annette Lees, from Buckfast, is retiring as driver-co-ordinator of Buckfastleigh Sharing after two years. 'It's just that the advice is that you shouldn't really be doing this after the age of 65 – I'm 77. We're looking for a youngster,' she said. But despite pinning up posters and putting the word around, no one has come forward. Margaret Smith, 92, who co-founded the charity 13 years ago, said it would be 'catastrophic' if the service could not continue. 'The service is open to anybody who is a patient at the Buckfastleigh Medical Centre. We take them to Torquay, Plymouth, Exeter, for podiatry, even social reasons if they are considered in poor health.' She said there is a hospital car service, which fulfills an important role. However, patients are collected on round-robin trips, which can mean waits of half-an-hour. With Buckfastleigh Sharing, each patient gets their own driver, so they can be confident of being collected on time. They are able to take a spouse or friend with them. The driver will also wait at the hospital until the patient has been seen. 'I treasure the idea of Sharing tremendously. It is a great thing and people come to it for all sorts of reasons,' said Mrs Smith. Annette Lees said they get roughly 35 calls a month. She has a pool of 11 volunteer drivers she is able to call on. She said the service's closure would cause a lot of hardship to a lot of people. 'First, there is the physical difficulty of getting from A to B and second, they know we are going to look after them. We are actually going to be sitting in the waiting room for as long as it takes.' Anyone wanting to find out more can contact Mrs Lees on 01364 644230.
