Child Cancer Foundation supports review of National Travel Assistance programme

Child Cancer Foundation supports fellow not-for-profit organisations Cancer Society and Ronald McDonald House in their calls for an urgent review of the National Travel Assistance Programme (NTA).

While the Foundation doesn’t provide accommodation services like their sister organisations, Chief Executive Monica Briggs says they are increasingly receiving requests from the families they support to provide assistance to get their tamariki to treatment.

Ms Briggs described six-year-old Theo’s* case as an “all-too common example”.

Theo and his parents had to travel a significant distance to their regional hospital for treatment of a glioma. He was regularly receiving day treatment which resulted in him being completely exhausted, making it impossible to travel home on the day of treatment.

This required his parents to pay for a hotel.

“Like many parents with young families, they could not afford this ongoing cost and asked Child Cancer Foundation for help. We investigated the NTA and discovered they were just shy of the 100km distance requirements. Fortunately, one of the exceptions was a child receiving chemotherapy treatment who was exhausted,” says Briggs.

“We advocated with the hospital, and they paid an NTA allowance of $100. However, finding a hotel for $100 is challenging even in one of New Zealand’s mid-sized cities, so we provided a top up of between $40-70 for each trip from our donated family support funds.”

“One of the basic tenants of a nationally provided service is the responsibility of the system to move people to where they need to be, to receive treatment they require. We believe the NTA is letting children like Theo and their whānau down.”

Through their experience supporting families through childhood cancer, the Foundation believes that the system undermines the principle of equal access to high-quality standards of care and places an added burden on families who are already in incredibly stressful situations.

“We know of one family who spent all their available putea to pay for travel and accommodation to ensure their child could receive the treatment they required at Starship Hospital. This left them with little to no money to pay for food,” Briggs notes.

“Whānau shouldn’t have to worry about the basics when supporting their child through treatment.”

The Foundation feels that the review is a long time coming and that it should be fast-tracked by Te Whātu Ora.

The paediatric oncology system is a nationally integrated world-class system, ensuring equal access and near-equal outcomes irrespective of race, gender or postcode. But the Foundation believes this excellence is being undermined by the failure to support those most in need with the transport and accommodation support required to get their child to treatment.

“Everybody deserves to receive the treatment and support they need,” says Briggs.

*Name changed to ensure confidentiality.