Help with travel expenses??? Hospital with child.

karend1980

Hi, I'm on benefits and my 1 yr old has got to have an operation in London. I live quite a few miles away and needed a hour and a half train journey and tube journey to the hospital. I went yestaday and it cost £31 as it was offpeak £20 more peak price..
Ive got to go another 2-3 times with an overnight stay and on one visit i will need to use peak hour trains as i have to be their at 7.30 am. Its going to cost a fortune , is their any help I can get?

Indie_Kid

What benefits are you on?

karend1980

sh1305 wrote: »

What benefits are you on?

Income support and child tax credits.

Indie_Kid

You can get help with travel costs if you're on income support. You need to take your award letter with you. They pay you for the cheapest form of transport.

karend1980

sh1305 wrote: »

You can get help with travel costs if you're on income support. You need to take your award letter with you. They pay you for the cheapest form of transport.

Take the award letter to the hospital? what do I say.. who do I talk to?

silvercar

Try booking your train tickets in advance, Advance tickets are a lot cheaper though you usually need to specify the train you want to take. Another option would be to take the coach, either National Express or a cheaper company like Megabus.

Indie_Kid

karend1980 wrote: »

Take the award letter to the hospital? what do I say.. who do I talk to?

There should be information on the hospital website. You can also ask at reception when you go to the hospital.

Tigsteroonie

Ask at Reception, you'll prob get directed to a Cashiers Office or similar. You'll need proof of travel (tickets with prices or receipts) and, if it's for an outpatient appt, proof of that appt.

I got a NHSBA card after we were awarded tax credits, that entitles us to reclaim travel costs. You may find that without such a card, you have to complete a claim form with proof of low income.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Illorinjured/DG_10018959

generalcuster

karend1980 wrote: »

Hi, I'm on benefits and my 1 yr old has got to have an operation in London. I live quite a few miles away and needed a hour and a half train journey and tube journey to the hospital. I went yestaday and it cost £31 as it was offpeak £20 more peak price..
Ive got to go another 2-3 times with an overnight stay and on one visit i will need to use peak hour trains as i have to be their at 7.30 am. Its going to cost a fortune , is their any help I can get?

Hi there,

I have the same problem. I am on Pension Credit and can claim my travelling expenses to and from the hospital. In my case the hospital is over 300 miles away and I have to do it every other month at least.

When I first started out a few years ago the hospital were very good and paid for my train tickets (£289 return - off peak is £106 return). I can't go in the 'off peak' time because of the timing of the journey and the appointment times in the hospital.
They then started cutting back 3 months ago and now only pay either the coach fare or mileage if driving (15p per mile - £90 for the journey and back). I still have to go by train because of the length of time it takes on a coach (10 hours - including the waiting time in London Victoria coach station to get there and another 10 hours to come back), but I am only given £10!
I am therefore out of pocket by at least £279 for every trip.

The advance train ticket is good but you are limited to the trains you can use and you lose the money if you don't travel. I tried that, and booked weeks in advance only to be told a week before my appointment that it was cancelled until the the following week.

I tried the coach once and because of the time spent travelling (over 20 hours) I stayed over in a hotel which cost £65 for the night which they wouldn't pay for either. This was the better option financially, but not very good for my health!!

So, yes they will pay but it will be limited to the cheapest method - normally coach travel which in most cases for medium journeys is £5 return. Maybe your hospital is different.

Ooops sorry I forgot to add that they would not pay for my carer (wife) to go with me because they said that it wasn't an absolute medical requirement. It seems that they take the view that being on a coach from point A to point B is not a problem, there is no need for a constant carer in those circumstances.
And one other thing on that subject, my daughter had to take my 8yr old grand daughter to hospital (Kings in London) on the train (50 miles each way) and that hospital wouldn't pay for her, just the child as there was no immediate medical requirement to have somebody with her for the journey!!!

mich13x

I think this link could be of use to you, the NHS low income scheme, has the details of how to apply on there...

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1125.aspx

good luck

generalcuster

Hey thanks for the above link and I had a look at Patient UK as well!!

I see that I may have an argument over the way I am paid expenses and I see that my daughter and grand daughter should also be able to claim together as well.

Thanks once again - well done!