My Triplet Daughters are currently in NICU and have been for the last 17 weeks, we use public transport to travel to and from the hospital, and are a low income. We got forwarded to the local hospitals cashiers office to apply for the Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme, which helps PATIENTS with getting travel costs back for their appointments, only to be told that the scheme doesn’t apply to NICU parents.

Now NICU babies range from having to stay a couple of days to help with feeding, to having to stay in weeks or maybe months due to their health, and I don’t think it is fair that parents don’t get help with the travel costs like every other patient does, especially if their baby is in very bad health and has to stay in the hospital for a long amount of time. They should be included in the HTCS

I understand that most hospitals offer accommodation near the hospital for parents that live a fair distance away, but what about parents that live within the hospitals city/town or with older children that need to go to school, or other reasons that they cannot stay in the hospital, should they have to choose between seeing their sick child and their other duties just because they cannot afford to travel to the hospital.

Please sign this petition so we can try and change this for future NICU parents