I can't pay the hospital travel costs

HarryCSMum

My husband works and earns just below £30k so we get no benefits other than my sons dla and some carers allowance. My son is 1 and is disabled and I have just given up my job as he needs more care. We live in Cornwall I have spent about £1000 in taking him to appointments in London and Bristol and the local hospital and on parking etc when he was an inpatient locally for a week in the last 3 months. None of the benefits take into account the costs and all of the charities require you to be on benefits for help. I'm at at point where I may need to say I can't afford to take him to appointments at the detriment of his health but I just don't know what to do

Roddy

HarryCSMum said:

My husband works and earns just below £30k so we get no benefits other than my sons dla and some carers allowance. My son is 1 and is disabled and I have just given up my job as he needs more care. We live in Cornwall I have spent about £1000 in taking him to appointments in London and Bristol and the local hospital and on parking etc when he was an inpatient locally for a week in the last 3 months. None of the benefits take into account the costs and all of the charities require you to be on benefits for help. I'm at at point where I may need to say I can't afford to take him to appointments at the detriment of his health but I just don't know what to do

Hi @HarryCSMum, 

I would assume that as this relates to Your Son, and his health needs, then you should be entitled to Hospital Transport, perhaps? Does your Son have a Social Worker at all, as he/she could advise & assist you with this. I do not believe that your income will affect your Son's entitlement to several services, such as his hospital visits/treatments and appointments. 

HarryCSMum

I have checked and been told it is based on our income but it doesn't take into account expenditures like mortgage bills and hospital travel costs!  I'm not looking to try and get help for a £50 fuel bill but when we got London to get the train there alon costs £200 return and that was the cheapest I could find! We don't have a social worker but have many other services involved and I've spoken to Citizens Advice and nobody has any ideas 😭

Roddy

HarryCSMum said:

I have checked and been told it is based on our income but it doesn't take into account expenditures like mortgage bills and hospital travel costs!  I'm not looking to try and get help for a £50 fuel bill but when we got London to get the train there alon costs £200 return and that was the cheapest I could find! We don't have a social worker but have many other services involved and I've spoken to Citizens Advice and nobody has any ideas 😭

Have you tried contacting the hospital directly? They may have come-up with this problem before, as surely you're not alone with such things. Asking for a Children Services Social Worker would be a good idea too whilst Your Son is still relatively young, so that his needs can be monitored and assessed in terms of his growth & development. 

Hopefully, someone else on here  will be able to point you in the right direction with this... .

Sam_Alumni

Hi @HarryCSMum

Your local council can provide help if you have a disabled child, including:

• short break services
• holiday play schemes
• care at home
• some aids and adaptations
• financial help, eg money towards travel costs for hospital visits

Your council has a duty to provide these services under the Children Act 1989. Some are free of charge - the council might ask you to contribute towards others.

If you think your child may qualify, contact the social services team at your local council.

A social worker will then talk to you about the needs of your family, including:

• health
• social care
• education

This is called a ‘needs assessment’ - the social worker will give you advice on what to do next.

There is more information here, I hope this helps.