Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Transport to and from treatment is a significant problem for cancer patients and their families who already are dealing with physical and emotional strains of cancer diagnosis. I have met many cancer patients and their families, which has given me a profound appreciation of how difficult and varied the effect of cancer diagnosis can be.

The provision of funding for transport is a common-sense provision. A cancer diagnosis can be a very difficult time for cancer patients and their families and can often involve considerable travel for patients. Radiotherapy can involve the patient going to hospital for a series of daily treatments over a number of days or weeks. On average they receive 25 sessions.

For cancer patients in the north west, treatment involves a very long road trip. Some will travel 600 km in a week to get to the nearest cancer centre and back home again. Most patients travel to University Hospital Galway but others need to travel to Dublin. Cancer patients need transport to be provided for many reasons. Their doctors may have advised them not to drive due to the aggressive nature of the treatment. The patient may have no family in the immediate vicinity or family and friends may be unable to take time off work to transport them to weekly or fortnightly treatments which can last many months. They may need specialised or extra treatment.

I sent an email to the office of the Minister, Deputy Harris, highlighting the case of one such person who requires transport from Sligo to receive his chemotherapy and radiotherapy in St. Vincent's hospital in Dublin. To date this young man has been supported with transport to and from Dublin through the goodwill of many people. Many people on the ground have worked extremely hard in ensuring this happens, like the many individuals around the country who go above and beyond the call of duty for the needs of others.

Existing support services offer as much help as they can to cancer patients and their families. However, transport is not normally one of them. In my experience more and more charitable organisations and volunteer associations have been approached for support to help with transport problems. In recent weeks the young man I mentioned has been told that he needs extra chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which puts an extra burden on all services to try to get this person to Dublin on various dates between now and September. The gentleman has no transport of his own and has a young family.

While the Irish Cancer Society offers the care to drive scheme, this only operates within a 50 km radius. It is important to acknowledge the benefits of the care to drive scheme nationwide with volunteers collecting patients from their homes and driving them to their hospital treatments and back home again from those appointments. By removing the burden of continually having to organise transport, the scheme has transformed people's lives. Life would be very complicated for those people without that service. It has removed some of the barriers associated with accessing care. We must acknowledge the generosity and goodwill of the 12,000-plus volunteers. Those involved often have a family member who is unwell or had previously used the service themselves. Unfortunately the care to drive scheme offers little advantage to people from Sligo who have to travel to Dublin, a round trip of 420 km.

Patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment are often exhausted. Someone who is ill and has had treatment will be feeling very vulnerable and having to hang around waiting for and being dependent on taxis or public transport is not good for the patient.

It is not uncommon for cancer patients who cannot afford to travel or cannot access transport to Dublin hospitals for vital radiotherapy to be directed to charity organisations such as the Irish Cancer Society, the Friends of St. Luke's and the Marie Keating Foundation to apply for financial assistance, but these agencies are already struggling with the limited funds available.

See this speech in context