Elderly and vulnerable patients are being forced to travel alone in ambulances to hospital appointments after health bosses banned carers from going with them.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has stopped escorts - carers, family and friends - from accompanying patients on Patient Transport Services ambulances to Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital.

The Trust, which carried 130,000 patients to hospital appointments in the last financial year, says the change will improve services.

But critics say it will cause unnecessary distress for hundreds of elderly, confused patients and people who need support when travelling to hospital.

Marjorie O' Leary could not travel with her 85-year-old mother, Irene Rhodes, when she was picked up by an ambulance at her Bradford Moor home for an X-ray at St Luke's Hospital.

The 64-year-old, who had travelled from Leeds to accompany her mother, said: "She would not go without me and by the time I had persuaded her to go, the ambulance had gone so we both had to get a taxi to the hospital. It's not the money that bothers me. My mum is very nervous and has panic attacks. She is rheumatic and unsteady on her feet.

"Even if the carer gets a taxi or a bus, the patients will be on their own for a while at the hospital."

Pip Wilcox, whose 43-year-old daughter has brain damage and lives in a Bingley nursing home, also condemned the move.

"The drivers are not paramedics," said Mr Wilcox, 64, of Greengates. "My daughter is unable to communicate, susceptible to fits and doubly incontinent. What will the driver do when she goes into a fit in the middle of a journey?

"Any delay in treatment could result in possible further damage to her health or even her death. The drivers should not be asked to take on this responsibility. There are no moral, medical or financial grounds for this kind of action."

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which commissions the service from West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (WYMAS), brought in the measure l for all patients except children under the age of 16.

A Trust spokesman denied the move was a cost-cutting measure to tackle the Trust's forecasted £11.3 million deficit.

He added: "The seats have been freed up for the use of other patients, allowing us to provide a faster, better service. This is about patients, not money.

"We recognise this may cause some inconvenience to some patients. However, the needs of our patients must take priority, and we believe that this paves the way to improve the quality of the service to all those patients who genuinely need transport.

"By making available more seats to more patients, we will be able to transport more patients in a timely way and reduce waiting times for transport - something all of us have wanted to achieve.

"Shorter waiting times for transport will hopefully also play a part in reducing any stress and anxiety caused to patients on their inward and return journeys."

But MPs and patient groups have condemned the move.

Bradford West MP Marsha Singh said: "It's absolutely ridiculous. It will certainly cause distress to a lot of people - particularly people with carers such as the elderly and disabled. How can this improve the service?

"If someone goes to hospital and cannot take their carer with them it will cause distress. I do not think causing distress to patients is an improved service."

Colin Sloane, chairman of Bradford's hospitals' Patient Public Involvement Forum, said: "I am disappointed the Trust has done this because I know how important it is for some people to have somebody with them. I can't imagine why they have done this other than to save money."

A WYMAS spokesman was unable to comment on specific cases but said: "We are booking services for the same number of patients as we usually carry."

Director of The Carers' Resource Anne Smyth said: "Difficult decisions have to be taken at difficult times but many patients appreciate the support of someone close to them at vulnerable times, whether it's travelling to and from hospital or being seen by a consultant.

"Unpaid carers have a vital role providing emotional and practical support. They often provide in-depth observations and assist health professionals. It's particularly important that patients have the support of their carers if there's no-one else available."