Macmillan partnership with Citizens Advice praised at the Assembly

Michele Campbell, Macmillan/CAB Welfare Rights Adviser speaking to Kieran McCarthy, MLA about the Macmillan/CAB partnership

Some 91% of cancer households suffer loss of income and/or increased costs as a direct result of cancer.  Macmillan Cancer Support found that, for many people who are affected by cancer, financial concerns are second only to physical pain as a cause of stress.  As a result of this Macmillan Cancer Support and Citizens Advice have been working in partnership over the last number of years to provide a benefits advice and information service to patients with cancer in the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Belfast City Hospital and the Mater Hospital.

On 25th January 2010 MLAs were invited to meet some of the Macmillan Welfare Rights Advisers at an event in Stormont.  This provided MLAs with the opportunity to hear about the partnership and the difficulties people with cancer face in accessing benefits.  The advisers were able to explain to MLAs about the importance of getting help in the hospital setting and to highlight to MLAs the value of holistic advice from a trained adviser.

Leading on from this event the following Sinn Fein motion was put forward, debated and agreed to in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 2nd February 2010:

"That this Assembly recognises that people undergoing treatment for cancer can find themselves vulnerable to poverty because of their changed circumstances; and calls on the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, as part of his service framework for cancer prevention, treatment and care, to provide access to quality, on-site financial aid and advice services for people undergoing such treatment."

As part of this debate Conall McDevitt, SDLP in his Maiden Speech to the Assembly said: “quietly and behind the scenes, welfare rights groups, established by Macmillan Cancer Support, provide advice and other help to those in need. The team at Belfast City Hospital, which is in my constituency, was established in 2007. It is a partnership with the Citizens Advice Bureau, and it has funding until next year. Patients from all over Northern Ireland have availed themselves of the service, which is now at breaking point because it is attracting users from areas where no support is available.”

Citizens Advice is pleased to be working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support on this important project which is showing very real benefits for cancer sufferers and their families.