Macmillan accused of ‘betrayal’ over plan to axe cancer benefits advice service | Charities

McMilan cancer Support is to cancel a specialized advice service worth 14 million pounds a year, which helps tens of thousands of people every year, while it was described as a betrayal of vulnerable patients.

McMelan, one of the largest and highest charities in the United Kingdom, told employees and partners this week that she plans to stop financing specialized advice services at the end of this year.

Its advice services help cancer patients to navigate the benefits system to ensure that they obtain financial support if they have to give up during treatment, as well as help additional costs of their disease, such as food, heating and transportation.

The latest annual numbers of 2022 show services, which are operating under the contract by 70 branches of local citizens, and received 112 million pounds to support 34,000 cancer patients, at least a quarter of them lived in poverty, and 40 % of them were retired.

The discounts in services come three months after the guardian revealed that McMilan was A quarter of its employees have reduced costs The annual hardship fund of 17 million pounds, which granted 200 pounds a grant to tens of thousands of cancer patients at a low income.

McMelan said that the current social care counseling arrangements cannot be affected, but the financing was extended until the end of May 2026 to enable it and the advice of citizens to “explore options” and determine alternative arrangements in the long run.

“We are proud of the influence he has achieved by financing the local luxury organizations and consultants, but we are concerned that the way we are born this support cannot meet the increasing demand, not sustainable,” said Stephen McCaymont, Senior Partnership of MacMillan Cancer Support.

Just two years ago a McMilan report It boasted that luxury services and financial advice of the charity embody its “fixed commitment” to help cancer patients during the “most weak moments” and had a positive impact on their health.

Two days after the partners told the latest discounts through the web symposium He attended a reception at Buckingham Palace King Charles hosted him with help from charitable societies of cancer, in which he highlighted the “care community” for those who helped cancer patients, praised them for their humanity and experience.

The discounts were shocked and angry by social welfare consultants, who said that the depth and experience of service are indispensable, while the timing – 5 billion pounds from the government Discounts of deficit benefitsWhich is the largest individual concentration to support McMilalan-funded social welfare-it can not be worse for cancer patients.

One of them told The Guardian: “If there is one thing worse than cancer, he has cancer without money. People who run McMilalan do not understand this. You have betrayed everything Douglas McMilalan. [who founded the charity 114 years ago] I stood for – that those who suffer from cancer should not be forced to poverty, but here we, all those years after that, are now a reality. “

“This has decreased poorly among the employees,” said one of the former McMilan employees who left the charity after cut off his position last year.

“I just don’t understand why they get rid of a service on which thousands of people depend on, while at the same time, hiring the elderly in great salaries.

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A spokesman for the citizens ’advice said:” We are in continuous discussions with McMelan to understand the effects of financing changes and how sustainable advice can be provided to future cancer care patients. “

McMelan insisted that he cannot continue to do everything we did earlier. “Because in recent years Income – 233 million pounds in 2023 Failure to keep pace with spending (262 million pounds in 2023). But critics are afraid that the front lines services for the poorest patients seem to bear the weight of discounts.

Citizen advice funded by McMilalan in a number of areas integrated into NHS cancer services and work directly from hospitals so that patients can ask about money concerns in the same place where they are treated. Other charities, such as hospitals, also depend on advisers to support their patients.