We were told of one woman in an isolated community who has to attend treatment three times per week. She has transport arranged for one day and has to hitch-hike on the other two days” TP&M interview, Northern Rivers, 2005
“Community transport providers in NSW refuse an estimated 90,000 requests for transport to health services each year”
Are you concerned that some patients may be foregoing treatment because it is too difficult for them to get to the hospital? Do you think there should be good transport assistance to help cancer patients who are unable to make their own way to hospital? If you answered yes to either of these questions then we call on you to take action and join us in speaking out.
Transport to health services is vital. Put simply, patients cannot be treated if they cannot attend their appointments.
Community transport offers non-emergency transport to people who are unable to travel by car or public transport, with a strong focus on providing services for older people and people with disability. However, health-related transport is increasingly using a greater proportion of the community transport budget.
Community transport groups supply approximately 680,000 health-related trips per year in NSW. Many providers cannot meet the rising demand and are routinely forced to refuse requests for transport to health treatment with some services closing their books on requests because they do not have the resources to meet demand.
It has been estimated that 90,000 people per year are currently refused health-related trips on community transport due to lack of capacity. Demand for these services will only increase as the population ages.
This issue affects people living in cities and regional centres as well as those living in the country. Community transport providers in metropolitan areas report that they refuse on average one in six health related requests for travel due to limited resources.
Equitable access to cancer treatment in NSW is an imperative that requires current gaps in transport to be addressed. We recommend the NSW Government take the following steps:
- Increase NSW Health funding for non-emergency transport services from the current amount of less than $3 million, to $10 million per annum.
- Distribute Transport for Health funds to community transport groups more equitably across the state, taking into account population profiles, health indicators, the location of health facilities and the relevant costs of providing transport.
- Develop a strategy to address access to health transport by Aboriginal people.
In November 2010 the NSW Liberals & Nationals released a policy statement indicating it’s intention to improve community transport. Specific commitments include:
- Providing an additional $12 million to the Community Transport Program through the Ministry of Transport. This will extend services to thousands of transport-disadvantaged people;
- Establishing a “one stop shop” for Community Transport providers within the Ministry of Transport to improve communication, efficiency and reduce unnecessary administration costs; and
- Establishing an appropriate driver accreditation framework to ensure Community Transport providers can enhance their services and ensure utmost safety of volunteers, employees and clients.
Make your voice heard and ensure that people who need treatment can get to treatment. Examples of actions you can take include:
- Write to the Minister for Health, the Hon Jillian Skinner, and the Minister for Transport, The Hon Gladys Berejikliann to raise your concerns about transport to treatment and asking about the promised improvements to community transport
- Consider copying your local member into any of your correspondence with the above
- Sharing your experience of difficulties associated with community transport
- Encouraging others that you know who have experienced difficulties to share their stories with us
To learn about how else you can take action on this issue or other issues then sign up to be the first to know. By signing up you’ll be the first to know about what’s happening in our campaigns and how you can get involved.
Do you have your own idea to promote, mobilise and take action on this issue? Contact your local Cancer Council NSW office to discuss your ideas and the support they may be able to offer.
