Steph Cooke wants more support for those who have to travel for medical appointments. Photo: Steph Cooke MP.
Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke has called on the NSW Government to increase subsidy rates for patients who have to travel to another town for medical treatment.
Under the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS), financial assistance can be provided to patients who must travel for specialist medical treatment not available locally. The payment can cover a portion of the travel and accommodation costs.
However, patients using a private vehicle receive only 40 cents per kilometre and must travel at least 100 kilometres one-way to qualify.
Ms Cooke said the current criteria left patients in towns such as Narrandera, Temora and Cootamundra without support when travelling to Wagga Wagga for specialist care.
“Specialist services cause patients enough financial pressure, without factoring in how you will afford to get to appointments, and the last thing we want to see is patients delay care because of this,” Ms Cooke said.
“Specialist care isn’t just around the corner in rural NSW, and even a short trip can mean hours on the road and a tank of fuel people simply can’t afford, especially today.”
Richard Moffat, who runs Lilier Lodge and Wagga Can Assist, said he’d noticed more and more families struggling since petrol and diesel prices started skyrocketing.
“We are starting to see regional cancer patients from as close as Henty seeking accommodation support in Wagga because the cost of travelling back home is more than staying here the night,” Mr Moffatt said.
“Generally, people who live in towns like Temora, Henty and Junee will go home at the end of their treatment, but that has changed over the past two weeks.”
Ms Cooke is also calling for IPTAAS to be expanded to cover patients travelling for life-saving screening, as well as an increase to accommodation subsidies, which currently sit at $75 per night for short stays and $120 for longer stays.
The cheapest price for a night’s accommodation in Wagga on Saturday night (11 April) purchased through booking.com is $87 for a single room with no private bathroom. The average price is around $170.
“The last thing they should be worrying about is how they’re going to pay for a place to stay, so we need subsidies to reflect the real cost of a night away from home,” Ms Cooke said.
“Early detection saves lives, but it only works if people can afford to get there.
“We should be encouraging people to access screening, and investing in this now reduces pressure on the health system later and leads to better outcomes for patients.”
