‘Affects thousands’: Cancer patient Eric Darby calls for travel subsidy raise
A terminally ill retired police officer is calling for an increase to the subsidy for rural and regional patients in Queensland who need to travel to see a doctor. See why it hasn’t changed since 2013.
Townsville
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A terminal cancer patient is calling on the state government to raise healthcare travel subsidies in line with the current cost of living, but the Health Minister says the rates “reflect modern day standards”.
Eric Darby is a 69-year-old retired police officer living in Forest Beach, near Ingham.
He has an incurable cancer called multiple myeloma, which is cancer of the blood’s plasma cells.
Since being diagnosed with terminal cancer in October 2013, Mr Darby has made 207 visits to see oncologists at Icon Cancer Centre Townsville.
That includes driving a total of 50,000 kilometres, incurring the fuel costs, car services and new tyres to go with it. At 30c-a-km, the Darby’s costs have been offset by about $16,000 in milage rebates.
“I don’t see why we should be broke just for me to stay alive,” Mr Darby said.
“Your cars get a lot of kilometres when you’re living this way.”
The subsidy for driving into a city to see a doctor has not increased since 2013. Public servants received an increase to their travel allowance rates in 2017.
Mr Darby understands it is not feasible to have an oncologist in every small town, but wants the mileage subsidy doubled to 60 cents per kilometre, because since his diagnoses he said fuel almost doubled and the cost of accommodation had doubled.
“When you need to travel you’re already under stress, you should not have to be under financial stress as well,” he said.
He’s completed the 260km round trip about another 90 times for stem cell transplants and various scans.
Sixty dollars a night per person for accommodation is covered by the current Patient Transport Subsidy Scheme rates.
That $60 each was a “saving grace” for Mr Darby and his wife Carol, because he could not drive after chemotherapy.
“Everywhere in country Queensland, people are doing this, so it’s huge for so many people.”
“This affects thousands and thousands and thousands of people. Everyone who’s out of a regional centre.”
Katter’s Australia Party is also calling for an increase to the subsidies.
Party deputy and Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto said the 2017 public service allowance increases were “much overdue”, and did not take issue with Queensland Health employees being reimbursed “at the correct rate they are entitled to receive”.
“However, the Health Minister must understand that it stings a bit more for sick regional patients who are left so much out of pocket due to the rising costs of fuel, food and accommodation when travelling away from home for essential medical treatment.”
Mr Dametto asked Health Minister Yvette D’Ath if she would commit to review the subsidy rates before the end of the 2022/23 financial year, via a question on notice in parliament in February.
In response Ms D’Ath said she had asked the Director General to monitor the subsidy scheme and ensure it “continues to reflect modern day standards”.
The state government acknowledged the significant additional costs Queenslanders living in rural and remote locations incurred when accessing specialist health services, she said.
There is $97.2m allocated for travel and accommodation costs in the 2022/23 state budget, an increase on $94.8m from the year before.
In parliament, the Health Minister said the state government would also continue to use telehealth.
The Bulletin asked Ms D’Ath to explain how subsidy rates, unchanged for 10 years, reflected modern day standards.
“The Palaszczuk Government recognises the financial pressures many Queenslanders, who must travel for health care, are facing at the moment due to higher costs of living,” Ms D’Ath said.
“It’s an issue the government is aware of and is currently assessing.”
A Queensland Health spokeswoman said increased funding of the scheme, from $94.8m to $97.2m was “to accommodate for the increase in people accessing the PTSS given an increasingly growing and ageing population in Queensland”.
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