Kerry Cancer Support Group
Kerry Cancer Support Group Health Link Transport was
established 14 years ago to provide essential transport services to and from
Cork to enable Cancer Patients attend appointments to receive treatment. To
date the 100% voluntary funded organisation has provided transport to over 75%
of those diagnosed in the region to cancer related appointments. From humble
beginnings in 2010 we now provide practical supports to our service users such
as a free bus service 5 days a week, bridging transport service provided in a
jeep sponsored by Ford, information service to schools and community groups and
a peer companion service. Over 2 million km has been covered while taking
service users to 8 hospitals across Cork, Limerick and Galway in the past 14
years. We replaced our Cork bus with a wheelchair accessible one in 2023. The
service is only made possible by the dedication of our bus drivers and
volunteers. We help people through their journey with
the help of funding of community groups, donations, sponsorship and fundraising
activities. The service is completely free to the service user and
confidentiality is guaranteed. We have an arrangement with the hospitals where
our service users have a “block booking”. This means that those who travel on
the buses are seen together so there are no delays and long waiting times for
appointments. The demand for the transport service has been increasing each
year. Transport to and from appointments benefit the patient and also family
members and can reduce a lot of anxiety and stress. Our service users stay in
touch long after their time on the bus has finished. We like to say they start
as patients and leave as friends and no one should face their cancer journey
alone.
where your money goes
Funding goes into the operation of our healthlink transport services.
history
Fourteen years ago, we listened. One of the biggest concerns
for those being diagnosed with cancer in our region was how to get to our
Centre’s of excellence for treatment. In 2010 Kerry Cancer Support Group put a
service on the road to meet that need and 14 years later we are still meeting
the needs not only of people in Kerry but in parts of Cork and Limerick too.
Transport is seen as an essential part of treatment. We are a community based
charity and provide a community based transport service to people accessing
Cancer Treatment Centres in Kerry, Cork and Limerick.
14 Years of Kerry
Cancer Support Group – Driving Recovery
·
2,038,498 KM travelled (that is nearly 50 times
around the world!!)
·
Over 75% of those diagnosed in the region have
been transported by us
·
8 Hospitals in the region covered
·
We have gone through 6 buses and 6 jeeps (jeeps
kindly sponsored by Kerry motor Works)
·
We have had 11 bus drivers
·
We currently have a bank of 15 voluntary drivers
·
Countless volunteers who have supported and
fundraised for us
·
We have on average 200 fundraisers a year
·
We give on average 30 awareness talks to schools
and groups throughout the year
·
We have
8 women’s groups around the county and beyond knitting and crocheting blankets
for our care packs