“ambulant with an escort” leaves a transport coordinator guessing what help to arrange. Write that Esther Quinn walks with a stick and needs someone beside her between the vehicle and clinic entrance.
Original practice material written by OETify. All people, services and records in this sample are fictional, for writing practice only. By the OETify editorial team.
A request to a transport coordinator
You are a community nurse at Lakeside Community Nursing. Today is 9 October 2026. Write to Mr Daniel Okafor, Transport Coordinator, Harbour Volunteer Transport, 3 Quay Road, Lakeside. Request transport and the recorded assistance for Esther’s outpatient appointment. The coordinator arranges travel and escorts; the coordinator has no clinical role in this task.
Use everyday wording for the assistance, while keeping Esther’s ability to walk explicit. Choose what the coordinator needs to know about entrance access and return transport.
Home visit notes for the travel request
Esther needs an escort between the vehicle and clinic, not help with every movement.
| Area | Fictional community nursing record |
|---|---|
| Patient | Esther Quinn, aged 76; outpatient appointment at Mariner Clinic; appointment letter available |
| Nursing shorthand | “Ambulant with stick; escort between vehicle and clinic entrance”; means she walks using a stick and needs someone beside her over that route |
| Vehicle access | Esther can get into and out of a car without physical help |
| Clinic entrance | Appointment letter directs visitors to the side entrance; reception will meet Esther there if contacted on arrival |
| Home entrance | Esther waits inside her front door; driver should ring the doorbell when arriving |
| Return transport | Appointment end time unknown; appointment letter gives reception’s contact route for return transport arrangements |
| Consent | Esther permits sharing her transport needs and appointment details with Harbour; she declines sharing her treatment summary |
| Requested action | Coordinator to arrange outward and return transport, an escort for the clinic entrance route, and confirmation directly with Esther |
| Background | Daughter usually drives Esther but cannot attend this appointment; daughter has no task in the requested booking |
Model request using the coordinator’s vocabulary
Model letter
Mr Daniel Okafor
Transport Coordinator
Harbour Volunteer Transport
3 Quay Road
Lakeside9 October 2026
Dear Mr Okafor,
Re: Esther Quinn, aged 76
Please arrange outward and return transport for Ms Quinn’s outpatient appointment at Mariner Clinic. She will also need an escort between the vehicle and the clinic entrance. With her permission, a copy of her appointment letter accompanies this request.
Ms Quinn walks using a stick and needs someone beside her on the route between the vehicle and the clinic entrance. She can get into and out of a car without physical help. The appointment letter directs visitors to the side entrance of the clinic. Reception staff will meet her there if they are contacted when she arrives.
On the day of the appointment, Ms Quinn will wait inside her front door, so please ask the driver to ring the doorbell on arrival. The time her appointment will finish is not known. However, the appointment letter gives reception’s contact details for arranging her return transport.
Please confirm the booking directly with Ms Quinn. She is happy for her transport needs and appointment details to be shared with your service, but she has asked that her treatment summary is not shared.
Thank you for your help with these arrangements.
Yours sincerely,
Maria Santos
Registered Nurse, Lakeside Community Nursing
Professional shorthand in a weaker request
The weaker draft names assistance without explaining the route or the patient’s ability.
Weaker version (do not copy)
Mr Daniel Okafor
Transport Coordinator
Harbour Volunteer Transport
3 Quay Road
Lakeside9 October 2026
Dear Mr Okafor,
Re: Esther Quinn, aged 76
Please provide transport and mobility support for Ms Quinn’s appointment at Mariner Clinic. Her daughter cannot drive her. She is ambulant with an escort and needs assistance at the entrance.
Her appointment letter is attached; please arrange return transport when she finishes. She waits inside her front door, and reception can meet her at the clinic. Please confirm the booking with Ms Quinn. She agrees to sharing transport information but has declined sharing her treatment summary.
Yours sincerely,
Maria Santos
Registered Nurse, Lakeside Community Nursing
| Draft wording | Replacement using the notes |
|---|---|
| “Mobility support” | An escort between the vehicle and clinic entrance |
| “Ambulant with an escort” | Walks with a stick; needs someone beside her on the specified route |
| “Needs assistance at the entrance” | Can enter and leave the car without physical help; uses the clinic’s side entrance |
| “Reception can meet her” | Reception will meet her at the side entrance if contacted on arrival |
Restore the doorbell instruction separately. The unknown appointment end time also needs reception’s recorded contact route, without an invented collection time.
Audience choices under the Writing criteria
These notes apply OET’s Writing assessment criteria.
| Criterion | What the model does |
|---|---|
| Purpose | The booking and escort requests come before the access details. |
| Content | Keeps the transport information Esther agrees to share and leaves out the treatment summary she declined to share. That is this case’s stated permission, not a general consent rule. |
| Conciseness and Clarity | The daughter’s availability is left out because the coordinator confirms directly with Esther. The car-entry ability stays because it defines the help requested. |
| Genre and Style | “Someone beside her” states the recorded escort need without clinical shorthand. |
| Organisation and Layout | Clinic assistance comes before home collection and the return arrangement. |
| Language | The action and its location stay together, so “entrance” cannot refer to Esther’s home. |
Read your transport paragraph as someone arranging drivers and escorts. Replace any label that does not name an action, a location or an ability from Esther’s notes.