Brief response from MP re Travel costs etc
Brief response from MP re Travel costs etc As mentioned in earlier threads my MP requested my comments on a letter he had from Rosie Winterton Minster of State of Health regarding the financial issues of having cancer - such as Hospital Travel Costs, claiming benefits etc.
I sent a lengthy letter last week and I have just had an email from his secretary saying that he has sent it onto Rosie Winterton and has also sent a copy to the Shadow Health Team.
I will update you if I hear anymore.
Thanks for all your help and responses - it enabled me to write with clear examples of the problems we face.
Love
bjj xx
costs hi im glad that someone is doing something to bring the issues of costs to ths government when i was diognosed in may it took 2 mnths for me to get anymoney both from work and from the benefit agency in the end i went to my locwl mp for help but it still dosnt cover the cost of parking and now i have to have rads its a trip up on the bus everyday if they dont allow me a hospital car so more expense that i cant afford im a single parent so things arent easy keep up the good work love lynn xx
Hi Lynn Thought I had replied to this but it doesn’t seem to have appeared. Moderator if it does appear twice please feel free to delete one!
You can claim travel costs back through HTCS (Hospital Travel Costs Scheme). There are certain criteria that you have to have to qualify - you have to be on certain benefits, have savings of less than £8000, or have child/working Tax Credit at the level where you get a white plastic credit type card that enables you to have free prescriptions.
You need to find the cash office at the hospital you are attending - not always easy! If you have the white plastic credit card thing then it is fairly straightforward to simply get the cash back - they may ask you to get a form signed by the people who are treating you. You can also ask there for an HC5 form and use that to claim your costs back.
I hope this helps.
Some of my comments to my MP stated that whilst there are schemes in place to help patients they are badly publicised and so most of the time people are totally unaware of them.
Love
bjj xx
Travelling for rads Hi Lynne,
I don’t know if you saw my earlier post on this subject, but to reiterate, I was advised by the receptionist in the Oncology Suite that I could get free volunteer transport for some 5 and a half weeks of rads - I am not on benefits thankfully, just got breast cancer. The hospital in Plymouth is some one and a half hours drive by car and ferry from where I live in Cornwall, and somehow the relevant trusts have come up with this system where the Devon and Cornwall Ambulance Service have volunteer drivers (who get paid by mileage) will come to Cornwall to pick up people with cancer, MS and kidney failure. It can be a long day - sometimes 6 hours from when I am picked up to being taken home, all for 5 minutes for rads, but my husband is disabled and 78 yrs old, and I don’t drive far. I just took a book, sat in the back of the car and let the driver drop off people with dialysis etc who were much sicker than I was.
Perhaps you could ask the receptionist in your Oncology suite if this is available? It was free for people in Cornwall, but I never did understand why people in Devon had to pay £4 each way. One driver had a collection box in his car for breast cancer research, so I always made sure I put a tenner in there to thank him. I don’t see any reason why you are not entitled to this service, if it is available in your area. Just get proactive and you may be surprised as to what is available for cancer patients.
take care, Liz.