Parents of boy, 11, with cancer hit with ‘crippling’ £5,000 Sheffield hospital parking bill

Schoolboy Darcy Sturman is fighting for his life on a children’s ward after being diagnosed with leukaemia in September 2017.

He has spent most of the last 30 months at hospital in Sheffield - and even when he has been well enough to come home, he's had to return for weekly check ups.

For the last two-and-a-half years his parents Jay and Jo Sturman have had to do a 166 mile round trip from their home in Louth, Lincs, just to be with their son.

The couple has racked up 20,000 miles and spent £5,000 on parking and £7,000 on fuel during their average twice a week trips.

The parking is so pricey because they have to pay £16 a day to park in a private lot because the 26 spaces at Sheffield Hospital are “always taken”, they claim.

Jay is speaking out as the Government’s pledge to provide free hospital parking for parents of sick children is to start next month - a promise he claims the hospital has said it can’t fulfil.

Tearful dad-of-two Jay said: “The cost is absolutely relentless and to be honest it’s heartbreaking.

“We are obviously going to do whatever it costs to be here with him but financially it is crippling.

“These sorts of things are the hidden costs of cancer. For us it is like having to pay for a second mortgage.

“I have had to take out credit cards just to pay for petrol and parking and it doesn’t seem fair.

“We are in loads of debt because of the travel costs. All we are doing is visiting our son in hospital and it’s financially crippling us.”

Speaking from his son’s hospital bedside, Jay explained how his family’s life was turned upside down when Darcy was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in September 2017.

His cancer was spotted in the A&E clinic at Grimsby Hospital after Darcy found random bruises on his skin.

Blood tests revealed cancerous cells in his blood and Darcy was transferred for specialist treatment at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

Jay said: “He was eight-years-old at the time and was a really fit and active lad. He played rugby and loved to be outside.

“But almost overnight our lives were turned upside down.

“When something like this happens it tears the family apart. Me and my wife have both been off work and the strain is felt among us all.

“We have had to put our main priorities in life on hold. We are missing out on seeing our children growing up.

“We can’t have holidays and are just focusing on supporting Darcy.”

Darcy has had a blood transfusion and chemotherapy treatment in a bid to cure the cancer.

Doctors gave him a 50% to 60% chance of making a full recovery after blood transplant - to replace his diseased blood with a donor’s blood - in November 2018.

But he suffered a relapse after a small amount of disease survived the treatment and began to grow again.

To date, Darcy has spent around 20 months in hospital and when not admitted to a ward has been driven to-and-from Sheffield on a weekly basis.

To help with the 166 mile return trips from Louth to Sheffield multiple times a week, Jay said he had to sell his 2001 Volkswagen Beetle car and buy a new more reliable car.

He said he bought the replacement - a reliable £40,000 Mercedes A220 A Class - on finance for £400 a month.

Jay said: “The entire hospital only has 26 spaces which is a bit of a joke. We have no chance of being able to park there.

“The parking issue is just an absolute nightmare. From next month the Government is supposed to be providing free parking at all hospitals.

“But I just can’t see it. I’ve asked the hospital about it myself and they have told me ‘we can’t make it work’.

“From what I can see nothing is going to change here and we will be left to pay all the time.”

Jay and Jo take it in turns to visit Darcy in hospital whilst the other stays at home with son Fin, 17.

Jay said the cost of ‘living’ at the hospital with Darcy is more than £100 a week for meals.

All this cost has left Jay and Jo in debt and they've taken out credit cards.

Jay has set up a GoFundMe page to help with tackling the costs and is appealing for donations.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/cancer-costs-darcy039s-story?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

John Somers, Chief Executive of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Here at Sheffield Children’s we do our best to provide appropriate parking for our patients across the Trust.

“Our hospital site is based in the city centre and we have 26 spaces in our underground car park for patients and their families. We understand it is frustrating when the car park is full and we try to work with local providers for alternative options.

"Patients and their families can be reassured that our patient advice and liaison service (PALS), as well as colleagues within each ward, are on hand to support you where possible."