Isolated Patients Transport And Accommodation Service
Page: 13218
Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [6.12 p.m.]: I raise the concerns of the Uniting Care Casino transport team and others regarding the Isolated Patients Transport and Accommodation Service [IPTAS], which provides financial help to people who need to travel 200 kilometres or more one way from their home to obtain specialist medical treatment. The reason for those trips is to access medical treatment that is not available in Casino or Lismore. To set up guidelines for charges to clients, discussions were held with the Casino Neighbourhood Centre and Northern Rivers Community Transport in Lismore. As I understand the basis for the IPTAS calculation, the mileage is calculated from post office to post office of the towns concerned. It calculates the mileage at 12.7¢ per kilometre, deducts the first $40 as a client contribution and ignores the amount paid to any carrier as irrelevant. In most cases the balance is not worth paying.
To highlight some examples of calculations, a return trip from Casino to Brisbane is 550 kilometres. At the moment one client pays $100 to the transport team. IPTAS calculates the 550 kilometres at 12.7¢ per kilometre, which amounts to just on $58. Once the client contribution of $40 is deducted, the amount payable by IPTAS is only $15.55. That means that the client is $84 out of pocket for the service provided by the transport team. One private person must have taken a different route for the same trip because IPTAS calculated the mileage at 12.7¢ a kilometre for 600 kilometres. The client received $76 less the $40, which is only $36 for the trip. I point out that when a Koori client travels to Brisbane the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs foots the bill and pays 35¢ a kilometre. When a veteran makes the trip the Department of Veteran Affairs foots the bill and pays 65¢ a kilometre.
The Minister is aware of these concerns and has agreed to look at them. IPTAS needs to realise that its help is not help at all, and that persons who are transported to and from Brisbane for medical treatment by the care group or by private car are being kept out of care facilities and, consequently, keeping ambulance costs down. Today in my area the cost of fuel is 96¢ to 99¢ a litre. When IPTAS deducts $40 from the 12.7¢ a kilometre that clients receive, effectively that reduces the payment to about 3¢ a kilometre. That is unfair, especially when family and friends of patients are providing transport, thus reducing pressure on the local ambulance service and keeping down the costs to the New South Wales Ambulance Service.
Generally, the people requiring assistance are not well off and need the support of people such as the Uniting Care team, friends or family. I refer to two letters I have received about this problem. John Brown has just been diagnosed as having incurable non-Hodgkinson's disease. Five days a week he will have to travel to Lismore for radiotherapy treatment, a round trip of 120 kilometres from his home. He understands that because he does not live 200 kilometres away from the treatment it is impossible for him to receive financial help. In his letter he stated:
If I elect to go to Brisbane and leave my wife and son here on the farm that IPTAS will not only pay for my mileage but also pay for my accommodation …
In the future I do not know how many trips to and from we will have to make as down the track they tell me that I will have to have Radiotherapy some where as they do not do it at Lismore.
I am asking if you through the Ministers office could consider not only my representation but also that of others before mine and after.
I received a letter from Doug and Julie McDonald of Casino which stated:
For over five years now we have been travelling to Brisbane with our youngest daughter Meagan, who suffers with Diabetes Insipidus for medical treatment, examinations and collecting medication which is only available from one of the specialists in Brisbane.
They set out their situation as follows:
Again in the beginning we stayed at a Caravan Park to keep the costs to a minimum, then we found out about St Paul's Lodge ... and have been staying there ever since as it is only costing $32 (for 2) each night ...
Again, by the time the $40 is deducted from their cheque, they are not left with much support at all. However, they are saving the system money. They are simply asking to be recompensed for out-of-pocket expenses.
Mr MARKHAM (Wollongong—Parliamentary Secretary) [6.17 p.m.]: The honourable member for Lismore said that the Minister is aware of his concerns. The Minister indicated that he would not be able to come to the Chamber tonight to respond to those concerns because of other commitments. However, I can assure the honourable member that I will ensure that the Hansard record is brought to the Minister's notice tomorrow, and no doubt the Minister will contact the honourable member to discuss his concerns further.