We are committed to working closely with Clackmannanshire Council and community planning partners to explore a number of potential public transport options which could provide future links with Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

A very positive meeting was recently held with representatives from the council and the local Third Sector Forum, which represents a wide range of community and voluntary organisations across Clackmannanshire, to discuss a number of suggestions. These included the possibility of introducing a new community bus service and it was agreed that this should be explored as part of a wider review of transport across Clackmannanshire which is being carried out by a Community Transport Steering Group set up by the Third Sector Forum.

NHS Forth Valley also plans to extend the contract for the existing H1 and H2 services for a short period of time to allow a number of proposals to be explored and assessed in more detail.

Tom Steele, NHS Forth Valley’s Strategic Director of Property and Facilities, said: “It is simply not sustainable or good use of NHS resources to continue to fund the existing H1 and H2 bus services as these are poorly used and cost up to £28 in subsidies for each return passenger journey.”

“These buses often run empty or with only a handful of passengers and very few people are actually using the service to travel to and from the hospital. However, we recognise that there are local concerns about future transport links to the hospital and we are committed to working with the council and other local partners to explore a number of alternative transport arrangements which could provide a more sustainable and affordable solution.”