A Wellbank man who regularly gets up at 6am to transport kidney patients to hospital from all over Angus has been appointed a Member of the Order of St John by the Queen.
William Harvey (66) is the first volunteer driver from the Angus and Dundee branch of the order to receive the honour.
Mr Harvey became involved in the patient transport scheme more than two years ago, after being inspired by the experience of taking his wife Mary to hospital for treatment.
Originally from Forfar, he worked in senior management in the textile industry in his home town, Dundee and the Borders before retiring in 2008.
“I was coming up to retirement age and happened to be in the doctor’s surgery and saw that they were looking for volunteers and I thought it would be a way to say thank you for the treatment my wife received,” he said.
He was initially involved in driving cancer patients to hospital for chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment but now drives kidney patients from all over Angus to Arbroath Infirmary for dialysis. With patients requiring three sessions a week, drivers build up a relationship with them and Mr Harvey said he has made some friends for life through his voluntary work.
“That’s where you get the satisfaction,” he said. “I have met people I used to work with, or I used to work with their fathers, and you can have some very interesting chats going back and forward in the car.
“I have met some wonderful people. It is very rewarding. It is something I really enjoy and I don’t mind getting up at 6am to take people to their appointments at 7.30.
“There is a wide range of ages from a young chap who is 18 or 19 to people in their 70s and 80s who have been going for dialysis for years. It is a life sentence for them because they will need dialysis all their lives unless they get a transplant.”
Mr Harvey is no stranger to community work and was involved in the Children’s Panel in Tayside from 1976 to 1990.
The patient transport service is operated under the auspices of the Scottish Ambulance Service and offers an alternative to patients who have no other way of travelling to hospital.
“In the past, if they were unable to provide their own transport, they often had to rely on NHS transport, which could result in long delays waiting for the return journey,” said Robert Hill, from the order’s Angus and Dundee branch.
“The St John service is designed to get them to hospital in time for their appointment and to return them home immediately their treatment is finished for the day.”