DACC wish to inform people who are experiencing financial difficulty due to illness or other unexpected cases of family hardship of the following funding.

The Hardship Fund

The Irish Government through the Department of Health and the National Cancer Screening Programme allocate additional money to both the Irish Cancer Society and Local Health Boards for cases of hardship mainly through illness or once off payments in other unexpected cases of family hardship.

 In Donegal it would be the HSE West Health Board Office in Ballyboefy.

Application for hardship money/ funding is made through your Local Community Welfare Officer who visits local communities on a weekly basis.

If you phone the HSE West in Ballyboefy telephone 074 91 31391 they will be able to tell you who, when and where the Welfare Officer is for your area.

You then go along to him/ her and explain your situation. He/ she can help you with the process from there. They will most likely look for receipts etc.

Also below is information on how to access the Hardship Fund through the Irish Cancer Society including the new Transport Grant Scheme.  A DACC original aim- funding for cancer patients travel.

Irish Cancer Society / National Cancer Control Programme
Partnership Transport Grant Scheme
October 28th 2008

The Irish Cancer Society currently operates a Cash Grants Programme which supports patients and their families who are experiencing financial difficulties arising from a cancer diagnosis and its treatment. The programme provides one-off payments for people with cancer, to cover a wide range of practical needs. This includes things such as higher heating bills, travel costs, extra clothing, or a much-needed break. In April 2008 the Irish Cancer Society entered into a partnership with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) whereby the Society will receive €7570,000 from the NCCP. This is to coincide with the transfer of all major cancer diagnostic and surgical treatments to the eight designated Cancer Care Centres. The NCCP has identified the transfer of symptomatic breast cancer services as the first service to be transferred.

Travel2Care is a transportation assistance fund which has been made available by the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) to patients travelling to the eight designated cancer care centres or approved satellite centre. The National Cancer Strategy – A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland – published in 2006, recommended that all major cancer treatment be delivered in eight designated specialist cancer centres

• · Beaumont Hospital
• · Cork University Hospital
• · Galway University Hospital
• · Mater Misericordiae Hospital
• · Mid Western Regional Hospital Limerick
• · St James’s Hospital
• · St Vincent’s University Hospital
• · Approved satellite centre: Letterkenny General Hospital.

The Travel2Care scheme that will be managed separately by the Irish Cancer Society on behalf of the NCCP.The Society will use these monies to provide cash assistance for people travelling for investigation for symptomatic breast cancer and treatment to one of the eight designated Cancer Care Centre as defined by the NCCP. The Irish Cancer Society will be the first point of contact for patients who require support from this financial assistance scheme when travelling to their initial investigative appointment.As with the existing cash grants system operated by the Society, the NCCP scheme will be operated through health care professionals.

Healthcare professionals will be the main point of contact for patients who require support from this financial assistance scheme in respect of travel for ongoing treatment. Applications will be received and assessed at the Irish Cancer Society and dealt with in a timely and efficient manner.

Healthcare professionals will include (Oncology) Social Workers, Clinical Nurse Specialists in all sub specialities, Oncology Liaison Nurses, Hospital Doctors, General Practitioners and others as appropriate.This NCCP funded transport system will operate in parallel with the non-transport funded grants already allocated by the Irish Cancer Society as part of the Society’s existing Cash Grants Programme.

The following list, while not exhaustive, sets out the main transport costs to be covered under this scheme:

• · Public transport
• · Private transport costs
• · Petrol or other costs to enable the patient/carer to use their own transport
• · Contribution towards petrol costs of a family member or other escort
• · Taxi costs where the patient’s circumstances disqualify them from using other forms of transport
• · Parking costs
• · Travel costs of escort

Consideration will be given to patients’ circumstances. Such consideration will include but is not limited to: health, awkwardness of journey and home circumstances (where time absent from home must be minimised).

Further information

Please contact phone Eimear Considine at the Irish Cancer Society on (01) 2316619 or email Travel2Care@IrishCancer.ie.

          For more information please click on this link.www.cancer.ie/travel2care.php

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The Marie Keating Foundation Comfort Fund

Please click on this link for more info on their work www.mariekeating.ie/

The Marie Keating Foundation operates a Comfort fund for patients who are experiencing financial difficulty during treatment. The fund covers all cancers. The fund is administered and accessed through the Irish Breast Care Nurses Association and senior Social Workers at each hospital. All applications are submitted to the Foundation through both these groups and applicants must fulfil certain criteria. Patients should talk to either their Breast Care Nurse or Senior Social Worker for further advice. Each contribution is based on each individual case and is a one-off payment. It is intended that the fund will help to alleviate difficulty with transport costs, additional childcare charges directly related to the treatment period. All money for the Comfort fund is raised by the Foundation who rely on public fundraising for all of its work.

                   The Foundation receives no government assistance for any of its work