Cancer patients face many difficulties! Having free and easy access to car parking at treatment centers is just one of them. Yet this is something that could be fixed relatively easily ensuring Cancer patients are in a less stressful state of mind when they present for what can be extremely traumatic treatment both physically and emotionally. I call on decision makers to provide free parking for Cancer patients at treatment centers.” James Butler
Are you concerned that cancer patients are reporting added stress and physical difficulty due to difficulties in accessing parking close to the site of their treatment? Are you concerned that households with a cancer diagnosis are slugged with car parking charges at their treatment centre at a time when they face on average costs of $47,000?* If you answered yes to either of these questions then we call on you to take action and join us in speaking out.
Cancer patients and carers report the following issues with parking at treatment centres:
- difficulty and time spent in finding a parking space
- cost of parking
- distance of parking from place of treatment
Why does this hit cancer patients harder than most?
Although these issues may be problems for many people attending hospital, they pose exceptional challenges for cancer patients because:
- treatment, such as radiotherapy, requires attending a hospital up to five days per week for six weeks
- the side effects of treatment leave patients feeling unwell immediately afterwards, making long walks to car parking physically difficult and uncomfortable
- it adds stress, particularly when a patient is left to arrive at treatment on their own whilst a carer or a supportive friend attempts to find parking
- the cost impact is cumulative, over the many days and weeks of treatment
- street parking surrounding the hospital is generally metered with time limits shorter than the time taken for treatment appointments.
It should be noted that some hospitals have implemented procedures and processes for car parking for cancer patients. These include access to designated parking via swipe cards and tags, reduced or free parking and/or providing reserved parking. However, there have been reports from patients that there are issues at some of these hospitals in terms of:
- not all cancer patients being informed about parking at the start of their treatment
- ensuring compliance with the processes and procedures that they have in place e.g. allowing non cancer patients to park in spaces reserved for cancer patients
Introducing a requirement that all Area Health Services implement policies and systems to provide burden free parking for cancer patients that address:
- difficulties in finding a park close to site of treatment, and;
- the cumulative cost over a course of treatment.
A first class example of this would be to provide:
- Designated car parking spaces for all Cancer patients and their carers
- Close to site of treatment
- At no or significantly subsided cost
Make your voice heard, put the issue on the agenda and help bring about a simple change that would have immediate benefits for cancer patients. Examples of actions you can take include:
- tell your MP
- sharing your experience of difficulties associated with hospital parking
- encouraging others that you know who have experienced difficulties associated with hospital parking to share their stories with us
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Do you have your own idea to promote, mobilise and take action on this issue? Please contact your local Cancer Council NSW office to discuss your ideas and the support they may be able to offer.
If you have any questions and/or for access to resources on this issue, please contact us stating your name postcode and query.
* Cost of Cancer in NSW (A report by Access Economics Pty Limited for Cancer Council NSW, 2006)
