Councillor fighting for cancer charity to use bus lanes says council is ignoring "simple, practical change"
“It’s just frustrating that a very simple, practical change is now just flying under the radar because people are so busy playing politics”
A Sheffield councillor fighting for charity vehicles transporting cancer patients to hospital to be allowed to use the city’s bus lanes says council leaders are too busy “playing national politics” to resolve the local issue.
In October, Liberal Democrat councillor Dr Will Sapwell launched a petition calling for vehicles offering free travel for cancer patients attending appointments to be allowed to use bus lanes and not receive fines.
Weston Park Cancer Charity and Firefly both transport cancer patients to and from hospital.
The two charities provide their service to people across the region, yet can often get stuck in traffic.
Dr Sapwell says allowing the charities to travel in bus lanes would reduce the amount of time spent waiting in queues.
“In the NHS we’re looking after people. Sheffield City Council is not looking after cancer patients - we are making it harder for them,” Coun Sapwell said.
He said that many cancer patients suffer with continence needs, especially as radiotherapy patients are required to drink a set amount of water throughout the day and some are having to live with stoma bags.
And while they’re struggling with these additional health needs, they’re being “stuck in a traffic jams” which could be avoided.
“We’ve got these amazing charities, they’re saving the NHS hundreds to thousands, if not millions a year,” he added.
“There people don’t necessarily qualify for NHS patient transport so these charities are just doing what is ultimately the morally right thing. They’re doing a fantastic job.”
Councillor Alexi Dimond, who chairs the city’s Transport, Regeneration and Climate Policy Committee, responded to questions about the matter at a full council meeting on Wednesday, November 4.
There, he said that Firefly vehicles “do not meet the current criteria” to be given bus lane access, while parking services haven’t yet been able to assess Weston Park’s vehicles.
It is understood that vehicles with 10 seats or more seats can be considered buses and be given access to the restricted roads, which are designed to make journeys easier for public transport vehicles and taxis.
Coun Sapwell is questioning why the council cannot “make either a specific exception or change the criteria” for Firefly.
“This response here is just ‘what we've decided is we're so busy that we're just not going to even look into this because it don't meet our current criteria’,” Coun Sapwell said.
“My call to councillor Dimond is put this on your work programme, discuss it at your next meeting and formulate formal words that means these mini-buses can be accepted so that they can use our bus lanes and cancer patients can have a better time getting into hospital while they’re already going through an absolutely awful time.”
The Stannington ward councillor claims that the joint Labour and Green administration which currently leads Sheffield City Council have become too interested in national political matters, as the two parties have been engaged in a near month-long debate over Zionism.
Coun Sapwell said: “We are a council, we do local politics, and yet at the moment we seem to be in the middle of people wanting to play national politics.
“This is a regional issue, this affects South Yorkshire as well - it’s something we can do to help people people.
“It’s just frustrating that a very simple, practical change is now just flying under the radar because people are so busy playing politics.”