Pregnant women, seniors, infirm patients and mothers with children are amongst those who now have to make their own way to the bus stop at the BP service station at about 2am.

Unless they have friends on whom they can rely, it can be a long and treacherous trek.

The service was cancelled at the end of April with Acting General Manager of the Tennant Creek Hospital, Michael Wright, instructing staff they were not to provide the service to any members of the community.

He also directed that hospital and security staff were not to collect members of the public from the bus at night.

Reasons cited included “cultural safety and security, hospital and staff security, infection control, limited space, transport costs and increased costs associated with the provision of meals.”

There were a lot of ‘report words’ thrown about in the email to staff dated 21 April 2009 but they amount to nothing.

It is unlikely that forcing locals who are unwell to find their own way to the bus could possibly preserve “cultural safety and security.”

Nor are the patients likely to disrupt the sterility at the hospital - indeed if patients are infectious they should not be travelling by bus.

As for the incredible increasing cost of sandwiches and bowls of stew, if this is such an impediment to the hospital budget then residents could have a lamington drive to raise funds.

That, or cut the manager’s salary to offset costs.

Bob Stockman (pictured), an 83 year old man, who spent more than 50 years “working his guts out in stockcamps” says he expects to be treated with decency.

In recent times he’s had to travel to Alice Springs and Darwin dozens of times for medical appointments and finds it appalling that the bus waiting facility has been dumped.

“I’m one of lucky ones who have a few mates who can give me a lift, but I know plenty of pensioners who are doing it really tough now,” he said.

“The poor bastards have to foot-falcon it all the way to BP and they get humbugged and harassed all the way.

“This is no way to treat pensioners.

“With a lot of the old ones, me included, a 30-yard walk will have us blowing like a broken-winded bullock.

“The hospital and the Territory Government have a duty of care to patients but they couldn’t care two knobs of goat shit.”

Minister for Health and Families, Kon Vatskalis, was given the opportunity to comment but had not responded by the time the Tennant & District Times went to press yesterday.