Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Birthday bash for Cancer Care Trust
NIKI TENNANT
La n a r k s h i re Cance r Care Trust ( LCCT), the volunteer driver service for Lanarkshire patients with cancer, celebrated its 21st birthday with a special thank you night for the volunteers who help those most in need.
The Trust provides volunteer drivers and cars for cancer patients who do not have transport of their own or find it difficult to cope with prolonged ambulance transport.
LCCT offers patients and their carers free transport to hospitals for life-saving treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, specialist clinic appointments for follow- up consultations, complementary and alternative therapies centres promoting better health and wellbeing, and day care facilities.
The Trust has 104 volunteer drivers who last year helped patients attend no fewer than 14,430 appointments.
In total, the annual cost of the Trust’s volunteers’ fuel is £150,813.12 and last year drivers clocked up a total of 471,291 miles.
Alex Brown, a trustee of the charity’s board, said: “We’re very proud to reach our 21st year and to celebrate the event with our magnificent volunteers, who live in every town in Lanarkshire.
“Any cancer patient within the NHS Lanarkshire area can ask for help.
“The service is primarily for people who have no other means of getting to their appointments and who couldn’t cope with hospital transport.
“We need to raise more than £4000 every week and 85 per cent of the Trust’s funding is raised by the patients and the general public in the form of donations and special fundraising events.”
Alex added: “Our volunteer drivers give their time and vehicles free of charge.
“We repay them for their fuel and telephone costs, and we’re always looking for more drivers to help our expanding service in Lanarkshire.”
If you live in Lanarkshire and would like the Trust’s help, or if you’d like to become a volunteer for the service, contact them on 01698 355137.