This article is from page 32 of the 2013-06-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 32 JPG
TRUSTWORTHY and reliable volunteers living in North Clare are being sought to provide cancer patients with safe, comfortable and confidential transport to and from University Hospital, Galway.
The Irish Cancer Society is working to extend its Care to Drive Service for Clare patients to include the Galway hospital.
Last month the charity announced that the service would be provided to Clare patients being treated at the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle.
Care to Drive allows cancer patients access to free transport to and from their chemotherapy treatment, removing the stress and difficulty of travelling at a particularly challenging time.
The Irish Cancer Society is looking for drivers in North Clare, who would be willing to drive patients to and from their treatments.
The service is free to both the hospital and the patient with volunteers being paid a contribution towards their fuel allowance and toll road costs.
The Society recruits and extensive- ly trains volunteers and asks only that volunteers have free weekday availability, can commit to two weekdays a month and have access to a car.
There are a number of reasons why a cancer patient may need to use the Care to Drive service.
They may have been advised not to drive by their doctor due to the aggressive nature of treatment; the patient may have no family in the immediate vicinity or they may be unable to take time off work to transport them to treatment.
In response to these needs, Care to Drive was developed in 2008 by the Irish Cancer Society and is now in its fifth year of the national rollout of the service.
It is currently available in ten hospitals nationwide and will be available in another five hospitals by the end of 2013.
Last year, the Society brought a total of 402 cancer patients on 6,392 journeys.
If you think you can help and are interested in becoming a volunteer or are looking for further information, then you can contact Gail at ‘Care to Drive’ at the Irish Cancer Society on (01) 231 05 66, email transport@irishcancer.ie or see www.cancer.ie.