From next month, a new St John shuttle service using volunteer drivers will help Central Otago people get to appointments at Dunedin Hospital.
Local and regional ambulance staff had recognised how hard it was for some people to travel to the hospital because of age or health-related issues, St John South Island community care manager Pam Hall said.
The free service is expected to run over two routes, each for two days a week.
Both will start in Cromwell; one will go via Maniototo and Palmerston and the other via the Teviot Valley.
St John would provide driving and first-aid training for the volunteers but they would not require any special licence and it was not expected that they would need to give any more than basic first aid, Mrs Hall said.
The schedule had not been decided yet.
St John is holding two information sessions for anyone wanting to volunteer for this service. The first is today at 2.30pm at the St John Cromwell base, 94 Barry Ave, and the second tomorrow at 10.30am at Central Stories Museum in Alexandra.
It was announced earlier this week Four Square Supermarkets was donating $345,000 to cover the purchase and setup costs of three vans in the South Island. One of the vans will be used for the Central Otago service.
