Candidate card · Medicine

You are the doctor

A patient unable to afford transport

Setting: A specialist referral review

The patient cannot afford repeated journeys. The fictional service has a transport-support enquiry route but no entitlement has been established.

Task

  • Explore the concern behind this opening: If I cannot pay for the journey, I suppose I just do not get the appointment.
  • Clarify the patient perspective using an appropriate follow-up, such as: How have the travel costs affected you?
  • Explain the supplied information and its limits in manageable sections.
  • Explore practical barriers and agree a workable next step from the supplied options.
  • Check the patient understanding and identify any unresolved question.
A patient unable to afford transport supplied information
  • The patient cannot afford repeated journeys. The fictional service has a transport-support enquiry route but no entitlement has been established.
  • The supplied service has a team that can discuss transport-support options. We can explain your circumstances to them with your permission instead of assuming that non-attendance means refusal.
  • I cannot confirm eligibility, free travel or reimbursement before that team checks its criteria.
  • We can ask the clinic about the arrival instruction and tell the support team about the available connections. Neither request guarantees a different appointment time.
  • Contact the support team using the number on the card and keep the clinic informed if travel remains unworkable.

Fictional scenario information supplied for exam communication practice only; not medical guidance for real patients.