Families of children with cancer to have travel costs covered

Families of children diagnosed with cancer will have the cost of travelling for treatment covered under a new scheme to be rolled out in England by 2027.

The government is setting aside £10 million a year to pay for children and young people's travel costs up to the age of 24, which can run into thousands of pounds during the course of treatment.

Long and expensive journeys for treatment are common with child cancer patients normally referred to one of 13 specialist centres across England.

Research suggests families pay £250 a month on average to fund hospital journeys, and charities report some go into debt to fund treatment.

'Really expensive'

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "When a child is diagnosed with cancer, their family's focus should be on helping them recover and getting them well, not on whether they can afford the petrol or bus fare to get to their next appointment.

"This small change will make the world of difference to parents," he added.

One family who have experienced how difficult it is to balance the finances is the Wildings. Their baby boy, Theo, was diagnosed with an aggressive infant blood cancer when he was four months old.

His mother, Emma, stayed at the hospital with Theo, who spent seven weeks receiving treatment, while her husband made the 90-minute return journey back and forth to Alder Hey Hospital from their home on a regular basis.

"It's really expensive," she says. "Finances is the last thing you want to think about when you are going through a tough time."

Emma believes the new policy will mean a lot to families going through the same thing, adding it will be like "having an arm around you".

The funding announcement is being included in the government's cancer strategy which is being published on Wednesday.

The strategy will set out a range of measures being taken to reduce waiting times, improve early diagnosis rates and prevent cancers.

Ministers will say it is a once in a generation opportunity to improve cancer care in this country with survival rates lagging behind a number of wealthy countries.

The travel support fund has been called for by charities for some time, who have argued that families have run up debts and had to cut back on essentials like food because of the cost of travel. It is further compounded by parents having to give up work or reduce their hours to care for their sick children.

Up until now, financial support has been heavily means-tested in England - and has only been made available to those on certain benefits. The same is true in Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has a more generous - although not universal - scheme.

Rachel Kirby-Rider, of Young Lives vs Cancer, says her charity has been campaigning for almost a decade for this measure and called it "a huge step forward".

Alongside the travel support fund, the government is also promising to improve play facilities in hospitals and provide more psychological support.

Jules Worrall, of the Teenage Cancer Trust, said she hoped the plans would lead to "real and lasting change for young people with cancer".