It appears that there was no room at the inn this Christmas, for many of Britain’s Cancer patients, according to a report from the Macmillan Cancer Relief charity which was published on 30/12/2005.

According to the British based charity, many of the patients whom they cared for, had reported that they were having to cut back on gifts, food and festive outings due to “costs associated with their illness”, including extra money for heating, travelling to hospital for treatment and the car parking charges on arrival.

According to the report, the Macmillan claimed that out of 60 per cent of their patients, a staggering 55 per cent had “been forced to spend less” money on gifts for their families, whilst “47 per cent had less to spend on festive food and drink and 47 per cent had cut down on going out.”

The report also claims that around “16 per cent of patients had been forced to borrow money from friends and family”, “13 per cent had taken out loans and 12 per cent had extended their overdrafts.”

A spokesman for the charity also reported that some cancer patients had even “cancelled Christmas”; due to the heavy costs incurred in the run up and over the Christmas season.

Complaints have also been reported to the Iraq Solidarity Campaign from both disabled and elderly members alike, who informed the organisation that they “faced difficulties accessing public transport and premises”, due to over crowding and a lack of adaptations for disabled people.

It was reported that people were unable to use particular shops because facilities such as toilets were up flights of stairs and due to over crowding; people also informed us that they encountered aggression for “walking to slowly”.

We were also informed of places where products and containers were being left in isle ways and blocking access for wheel chair users and others with limited mobility. Alongside a lack of support from shop assistants in reaching, in particular food items from high shelves.

Speaking to one member of the Campaign, a recovering stroke victim, when she ordered a taxi on New Years Eve, the driver charged her double fair and dropped her and her food shopping off at the other side of the road, facing her house.

She said that she had waited over forty-five minutes outside a local supermarket for the taxi to arrive, where there was no adequate seating apart from the curb side and that the driver immediately made references to “local journeys” compared to the money made on “longer ones”.

“Imagine”, she wrote in an e-mail which was received on 2/1/2006, “Had the three kings made the same complaints to the Virgin Mary on their arrival in Bethlehem, we would never say “peace to all men”, ever again!”

Hussein Al-alak,
The Iraq Solidarity Campaign