A cancer charity that helps patients claim over £4 million in benefits is to get funding to stay in business for another year.
The Macmillan Cancer Support advice centre at Ninewells Hospital is one of five centres across Scotland that will share £500,000 of further investment. The cash was announced by health secretary Nicola Sturgeon.
A Macmillan spokeswoman said the Dundee project was funded to the end of March. The new money would keep it running for a further year, when she hopes more funding would then be available.
At the start of the year Labour leader Iain Gray said his party would not allow the axe to fall on the advice centres if Labour were elected in May.
The spokeswoman said, “Both parties clearly see this as a vital service. Over the last 18 months the Macmillan Welfare Rights Service in Tayside has brought in over £4 million in benefits and helped around 1200 people.”
The advice centres provide a range of practical and emotional support including money and benefits advice to help people maximise their income. They also direct people to the appropriate place for employment advice, advice on adapting houses and training for people who need to change jobs because of their illness.
After the success of the original Macmillan advice service at the Beatson cancer centre in Glasgow, £1.5 million has been invested by the government to roll out the service to all five cancer treatment centres, including Dundee.
The Scotland-wide service has helped nearly 5000 cancer sufferers claim an extra £10 million in welfare support.
The new funding will also help continue a Macmillan pilot in Dundee and Forth Valley to provide financial advice and support for people and their families living with a range of long-term health conditions.
The spokeswoman said, “We set up pilots in Forth Valley and Tayside to look at extending the model we have developed (for maximising welfare benefits claims) to other long-term conditions.”
Ms Sturgeon said, “We know the reality of living with cancer can mean people have to give up work or adapt the house they live in and the impact on family finances can be huge. These trained advisers will help people more easily tap into the help that is available and maximise their income.”
Elspeth Atkinson, Macmillan’s director for Scotland, said, “We know that a cancer diagnosis can have a huge impact on finances with many people facing increased expenses such as higher fuel bills and hospital travel costs at a time when they are experiencing a drop in income.
“Many patients, having worked all their lives, also have no idea they are eligible for financial assistance or how to navigate the complex benefits system. Macmillan believes all cancer patients in Scotland should be given routine access to benefits advice as these services go such a long way to making life more tolerable at what can be such a difficult time.”For more information on the Macmillan advice service visit www.macmillan.org.uk