Chemo and radiotherapy patients in Staffordshire can now get easier access to the blue badge parking scheme in the county – thanks to a five-year campaign by Stone councillor Joyce Farnham.
Cllr Farnham’s campaign has been backed by cancer charities and MPs and now Staffordshire County Council will work with the County Hospital in Stafford to directly refer eligible cancer patients to the blue badge scheme, cutting out the reams of forms that normally need to be filled in.
It means patients suffering the effects of chemo or radiotherapy can park closer to shops, the hospital as well as other places.
Councillor Farnham said: “The treatment for cancer causes intense fatigue and weakness. And for patients to have the freedom to park near to the area they wish to visit will revolutionise their lives. Both the borough and county councils have been very supportive in helping get this groundbreaking scheme under way and I hope that the rest of the country will follow Staffordshire in providing a vital lifeline for cancer sufferers.”
Under the new scheme, patients undergoing chemo or radiotherapy will be directly referred to the county council. They will still be subject to the same Department for Transport checks to see if they are eligible for the scheme, but the burden of filling in forms will be greatly reduced.
Currently 25,000 people in Staffordshire have a blue badge. Badges last for up to three years, but can be given back sooner than that if a person’s health circumstances change.
Stone MP Sir William Cash said Cllr Farnham – a town and borough councillor – had led an “incredible” five year campaign. He said: “I am glad for the affected chemo and radiotherapy patients that we have achieved a successful outcome so that those in the Stone constituency can now get easier access to the blue badge parking scheme. It is because of the great initiative, determination and hard-working spirit of Councillor Joyce Farnham that we in Staffordshire can have chemo and radiotherapy patients sidestep the bureaucratic obstacles and can get the necessary access to the blue badge parking scheme. Given the importance of the decision for Stafford Borough and the county, I see no reason why this decision should not be rolled out across the country as a whole.”
County councillor Alan White, cabinet member for health, care and wellbeing, added: “People who are going through intensive treatment for cancer can often be overwhelmed by how their life changes. Having access to a blue badge may seem like a small thing, but it can really make a difference to a person’s life.”
Officers at the county council are now looking to extend the scheme to other Staffordshire hospitals.
