Rural SA dialysis patient Bob Moulton calls for improved patient assistance transport scheme

ABC NEWS (Australia)

People from rural areas who need kidney dialysis face higher travel costs and often have to relocate to a capital city to get life saving treatment. One patient in regional South Australia says that burden could be eased with better access to a state government transport subsidy.

Transcript

00:00 77-year-old Bob Moulton has travelled over 65,000 kilometres in the past three years

00:08 just to stay alive.

00:09 Bob requires dialysis three times a week at Port Augusta Hospital, 68 kilometres from

00:15 his home in Melrose.

00:17 I have kidney disease.

00:19 I don't have any kidney function, in fact.

00:22 Bob clocks up almost 400 kilometres on the road each week for his treatment, but he doesn't

00:28 qualify for travel subsidies.

00:31 Under the SA Government's Patient Assistance Transport Scheme, or PATS, people have to

00:36 live at least 100 kilometres one way from treatment to be eligible.

00:40 It probably costs us a full tank of fuel each week, which is, with current prices, about

00:47 $100 a week.

00:49 South Australia's scheme was reviewed in January, increasing the subsidy from 16 cents per kilometre

00:56 to 32 cents.

00:58 This brought South Australia in line with all other states.

01:01 But unlike other states, SA still doesn't offer subsidies for cumulative travel.

01:06 We just don't qualify.

01:09 And we're really grateful for the treatment that I get because that doesn't cost me anything.

01:16 And we're just really advocating for uniformity with the other states.

01:21 State Health Minister Chris Pickton says that further reform for PATS will be considered

01:26 over time.

01:27 We can already see that we've made big changes and made a lot of people's lives better, but

01:34 we also need to look at how we can bring health services closer to people as well.

01:38 Bob and Jan say it's not just about them, that the lives of many other rural dialysis

01:44 patients would be made easier if the scheme changed to include cumulative travel.

01:50 It's about equity, it's about fairness to country people, really.

01:53 For Bob and Jan Moulton, their only wish is to initiate change for rural dialysis patients

01:58 in South Australia.

02:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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