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If you are eligible to have your train tickets booked and paid for you, there are a number of things you need to do:
Firstly, we need to see evidence that you are eligible. Please send us copies of evidence showing which of the qualifying criteria applies to you (see the section below on ‘Proof of entitlement’ for what forms of evidence we are able to accept). We will keep this information on file so that you do not have to resubmit it every time.
Then, before the first appointment where you are claiming for transport, please call the GIDS administrators to give them: the names of the passengers travelling, the date and time of appointment, and your departure station. You need to do this at least 5-10 working days before the appointment. This gives us time to book your tickets and obtain the best fare.
Train tickets will be booked via the Service’s travel agent and sent to your home address, or you will be given a code to pick them up from a ticket machine at your local station.
Tickets for appointments at our London base also include an underground supplement so that you are able to complete your journeys to and from the Tavistock Centre by underground.
The following table details what will be accepted as evidence for the qualifying criteria.
Please note, we will not be able to purchase any train tickets until we have received a copy of this evidence and can verify that it is valid for the day of an appointment.
Proof of entitlement
Income Support (IS)
Patients claiming IS should be able to present either:
An award letter from their Jobcentre Plus Office confirming their receipt of IS; OR
Income Based Jobseekers Allowance
Patients claiming JSA (IB) should be able to present either:
An award letter from their Jobcentre Plus Office confirming their receipt of JSA (IB); OR
Any official correspondence that indicates entitlement to the named benefit on the day of the appointment, and dated within a three month period of the appointment.
Working Tax Credit
WTC
Patients should provide an NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate (this is a wallet sized plastic card). Where an NHS Tax Credit Exemption certificate has yet to be issued an award letter should be provided showing the annual household income.
In the case of dependents, an exemption certificate is not issued. However, the tax credit award letter will list the children included within the award and this should be provided as proof of entitlement.
The award letter should be provided as proof of entitlement. This letter will detail the type of pension credit in payment.
Patients will be able to have tickets booked for them and their parent(s)/carer(s). Other escorts may only have tickets booked for them if this is deemed clinically necessary by the clinician allocated to the case.
For appointments at the paediatric endocrinology liaison clinics, the organisations responsible for reimbursing fares are University College London Hospitals (for UCLH) and Leeds Teaching Hospitals (for the LGI) NHS Trusts. Please contact the hospitals directly for information about their policies. More information can be provided at the time of the first paediatric appointment.
NB: This policy only applies to patients from outside the London area.
For patients living in London, your travel costs will be covered by the Trust’s Patient Travel Reimbursement Scheme (claim forms can be obtained on the day of the appointment from the General Office Cashier, which is located on the ground floor of the Tavistock Centre in the Main Reception area).