Young Emmett is forced to travel to Sydney regularly for cancer treatment. Now, exhausted from 18 months of travelling, his mother Robyn is calling on the ACT Government to create a dedicated paediatric oncology and haematology service. Photo: Robyn Wakefield.
A Canberra mother is making a desperate plea to the ACT Government to establish a paediatric oncology and haematology unit in Canberra.
Robyn Wakefield and her three-year-old son Emmett, who is receiving cancer treatment, are forced to travel three hours to Sydney to receive life-saving care at Westmead Children’s Hospital’s paediatric oncology and haematology unit.
The consistent travel for the care, which includes chemotherapy, has left the family exhausted and disappointed that the nation’s capital doesn’t have the necessary treatment for children and infants facing some of the most devastating medical conditions imaginable.
After nearly 18 months of travelling back and forth, Robyn has said enough is enough and has now penned a petition asking the ACT Government to establish the unit.
“For a child with cancer, those journeys are not just inconvenient. They are exhausting and physically punishing,” Robyn said.
“The ACT Government does provide financial assistance through the Interstate Patient Travel Assistance Scheme. On paper, this support is meant to ease the burden. In reality, it adds another layer of stress.
“In our case, I eventually gave up. We are now significantly out of pocket, not because support doesn’t exist, but because it is too difficult to access during a medical crisis. No family should have to choose between their child’s care and their financial stability.
“Our story is not unique.”
Robyn said the petition was about fairness for children in the ACT and surrounding areas.
“This is about compassion and acknowledging that families facing childhood cancer are already carrying more than anyone should,” she said.
“No parent should sit in a hospital corridor wondering why their child’s postcode determines how far they must travel for lifesaving care.
“No child should be vomiting in a public bathroom after chemotherapy because there is no service closer to home.
“If you believe that children deserve care closer to home, if you believe families should be supported, not stretched to breaking point, please sign and share the petition. Because no family should have to fight geography while fighting cancer.”
Emmett receiving care at Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney. Photo: Robyn Wakefield.
ACT MLA Elizabeth Lee has sponsored the petition, which has gathered more than 1300 signatures in its first 48 hours, passing the requirement to have it presented in front of the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Ms Lee said the strong reaction from the public represented the need for Canberra to establish the services.
“Robyn contacted my office and explained the situation that she is in with her son. I don’t think there is a single person who wouldn’t be moved by the situation that she’s in,” Ms Lee said.
“We live in the nation’s capital and to have children as young as two and three who are being forced to travel by car for over three hours to seek life-saving treatment has an enormous impact on not only the children, but also their families. It upturns their entire lives.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t be moved by the situation that she is in and wants to do whatever we can to ensure that no other Canberra family goes through this.”
Ms Lee said the benefits of having the unit in Canberra would serve more than just the people of the ACT, but many more in regional NSW who travel even further to Sydney or Melbourne for care.
“We’ve also heard of families in the surrounding NSW areas that are not able to put their name on the petition itself, just because of the rules, but it impacts so many more. So we could be talking tens of thousands of families that are affected,” she said.
“As a nation’s capital, in so many ways we pride ourselves on leading the way when it comes to many aspects of providing Canberrans with a really good living. And yet, when it comes to health services, it is incredibly disappointing and, in fact, unacceptable that we’ve got children travelling three hours for treatment.
“Not only would this make sure that there’s a pediatric oncology and hematology unit in Canberra, which should be an essential service for Canberra families, but also to so many families in the NSW region as well.”
To sign the petition, visit the ACT Legislative Assembly. The petition is available until 26 July.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Region Canberra.
