A LOCAL representative has called on the Health Minister to urgently review the Department of Health’s position on funding travel costs for families of children undergoing cancer treatment.
The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP said the current stance risks placing an ‘unacceptable burden’ on families already dealing with the stress of a cancer diagnosis.
Her comments follow confirmation from the Department of Health that it is ‘not possible’ to introduce a scheme locally similar to one announced by the UK Government earlier this year.
The scheme will see £10 million allocated annually to cover travel costs for children and young people up to the age of 24 in England.
Mrs Cullen said the decision not to replicate the support in the North was ‘simply unacceptable’.
“At the most stressful and worrying time in any family’s life, their burden is being added to by having to consider the financial implications of travelling for treatment,” explained Ms Cullen..
“We should be doing all we can to ease their worries, not add to them.”
Highlighting the impact on rural communities, the local representative pointed out that families in her constituency face significant journeys to access specialist care.
“From Belleek in Fermanagh to Belfast is a 210-mile round trip, and around 30 per cent of young cancer patients in the north have to travel to England for treatment, often at short notice,” Ms Cullen said.
“Those journeys place significant financial strain on families.
“Once again, those who live in rural areas are being disadvantaged because of their geographical location, and that is simply not good enough.”
In January, all seven Sinn Féin MPs signed a cross-party letter urging the British government to extend the travel fund to include families in the North when it is rolled out in England in 2027.
Mrs Cullen added that families in areas such as Fermanagh and South Tyrone ‘must be treated equally and must not be left behind’.