Taxis to New Cross Hospital: A Practical Guide

New Cross Hospital sits in Wednesfield, a few minutes from our office, and it is one of the destinations we run to most. Appointments, visits, discharges and everything in between, at every hour of the day and night.

Hospital journeys are not like other journeys. They tend to matter more, they often involve someone who is unwell or anxious, and the timings are rarely convenient. This guide covers how to arrange them and, just as importantly, what to tell us when you book.

Appointments: book the day before

If you have an appointment time, pre-book the car rather than ringing on the morning. Hospital appointments cluster at the same hours as the school run and the commute, and a car booked in advance is built into the day rather than found in the middle of the busiest hour.

Give yourself more time than the journey needs. Parking around the site is busy, drop-off can be slow at peak times, and walking from the door to the right department takes longer than people expect, particularly if you are not well. Being twenty minutes early costs you nothing. Being five minutes late can cost you the appointment.

Getting home again

Return journeys are harder to plan because nobody knows exactly when they will be finished. Our advice is not to book a fixed return time unless you are confident, and instead to ring the office on 01902 305 333 when you know you are nearly done. We run 24 hours, so there is always someone to take the call, and being a few minutes from the site means we are usually not far away.

If you are booking for someone else, our app is worth having, because you can arrange the car and see where it is without needing them to make the call themselves.

Discharges, including late ones

Discharges happen when they happen, and that is frequently late in the evening or overnight. It is one of the reasons we dispatch around the clock. If a relative is being sent home at eleven at night, there is a car available and a person answering the phone.

When you ring, say that it is a discharge. It tells the office the passenger may be slower getting to the car, may have bags or equipment with them, and may need the driver to wait rather than pull away the moment the meter starts.

Visiting

Visiting runs are usually the easiest to plan because the times are known in advance. If you are visiting daily, which people often are, it is worth mentioning to the office, and if you are doing it through work or on a regular arrangement a business account can simplify the paperwork.

Tell us about mobility needs when you book

This one matters, and we would rather be straight with you than have you find out at the kerb. We do not operate wheelchair accessible vehicles. If you or the person travelling needs a WAV, the hospital or your local authority can point you to a provider who does, and it is better to know that now than on the day.

What we can do is send the right car for the situation. An estate gives noticeably more room for getting in and out and for equipment or bags. Our drivers will help to and from the door. If someone needs a little more time or a hand with a bag, say so when you book and it gets passed to the driver.

We also run pet friendly vehicles, which occasionally matters when someone is being collected and the dog has been in the car all day.

What it costs

Our fares are metered, so you pay for the journey you make. From most of Wednesfield the hospital is a short run. From further out across the areas we cover it will be longer, and the app will quote you a price before you confirm so there are no surprises at the end.

If cost is a concern and you are attending regularly, it is worth asking the hospital about the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme, which helps some patients on qualifying benefits with travel to appointments. We cannot advise on eligibility, but the hospital can.

Booking

Call 01902 305 333 at any hour, or book through the app. If it is an appointment, book ahead. If it is a return or a discharge, ring when you are ready and we will come. We have been running from Wednesfield since 1991 and the hospital is effectively on our doorstep, which is usually the difference between a short wait and a long one.