Dial-a-Journey is now ferrying nurses who were struggling to get into their work across Stirlingshire
A charity has come to the rescue to help stranded student nurses.
Local transport service Dial-a-Journey has stepped in to help student nurses struggling to get to placements during the Covid-19 crisis.
The charity is giving free lifts to student nurses who have been affected by reduced bus and train services and don’t have their own transport to get to and from shifts.
The service is now being used to shuttle several nurses around Stirling, and can be booked in advance to fit in with their shift patterns.
Lynn Maher, of Stirling University Students’ Union said: “The union sabbatical officers noticed that several student nurses had posted on social media about how difficult it was to get to placements using public transport, so we got in touch with Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise to see how they could help.
“They suggested we get in touch with Dial-a-Journey and within no time at all, we had a solution to the problem! Nurses can now book a journey in advance to match their shift pattern, which is great news.”
Dial-a-Journey, which normally supports people with mobility issues, is offering the crisis service to student nurses free of charge.
The charity’s Heidi Anderson said: “When the union got in touch, we were only too happy to help the students out. We’ll be transporting no more than nine nurses at a time, observing the two metre rule, and will be sanitising the bus between journeys to keep them safe. The nurses will also be bagging their uniform before getting on the bus and the University Sports Centre has donated shoe covers to minimise the risk of transmission.”
Natalie Masterson, chief executive of Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise, added: “When we were contacted by the University of Stirling’s Students’ Union regarding the transport issues some of the student nurses were struggling with, we knew that there was an organisation that could possibly help.
“It was just a matter of making the connections and Dial-a-Journey have been fantastic at stepping up and giving their time. Finding local solutions to local issues is the best way to solve some of the problems we are currently facing and it’s truly heart-warming to see so many positive examples of people working together to face this head on.”
