CAR-T Away from Home Service

This project has two parts. You can apply for accommodation, grant funding or both.

1. Hotel accommodation

Thanks to our hotel partner Dalata, we can offer free accommodation in one double or twin room per family per stay for up to 30 days. This is booked and arranged by us and we must know the dates in advance. This cannot be exchanged for money, vouchers, or another hotel.

2. Grant funding:

We will pay up to £500 in a cash grant to help with other expenses related to having CAR-T therapy. This could include, but is not limited to:

• Travel expenses to and from your home and the hospital where you having CAR-T, such as bus tickets, train tickets, fuel, car maintenance, parking fees and taxi fares.
• The travel costs of people coming to visit you in the period you are away from home for CAR-T.
• Increased food costs whilst living away from home whilst undergoing CAR-T.

One grant per family.

Maximum award of £500 in cash and 30 days hotel accommodation.

This grant is only open to those currently going through CAR-T therapy. You can apply as soon as you become aware that CAR-T is recommended as a treatment for you. However, we will not pay out the grant until the date the CAR-T therapy begins. We will only book the hotel from the day your therapy starts. We define the “beginning of therapy” to mean the day that conditioning therapy starts, before cells are reinfused.  Grants cannot be applied for retrospectively; you must apply before  you begin conditioning chemotherapy or cell re-infusion.

The fund does not have a closing date. We will allocate funds on a first come first serve basis, based on the date we receive the full application with clinical letter, until the fund is depleted.

This fund is separate to the Financial Hardship Fund. Please read the eligibility criteria below to determine which fund is best suited to your needs, as you may not be able to apply for both.

The CAR-T Away From Home fund is designed to specifically cover the additional costs that arise when people have to stay away from home for CAR-T treatment. To qualify for both the grant and hotel accommodation, the applicant must live more than one hour away from the treatment centre. Anyone who is having CAR-T treatment locally can instead apply for other grants we have available at Leukaemia Care.

Patients or close family of patients who are CURRENTLY undergoing CAR-T therapy or similar cellular therapies. By currently, we mean CAR-T therapy is planned but the CAR-T cells have not yet been re-infused into the patient. See “What we will fund?” for more details, including advice on when to apply. This can be as part of a clinical trial, or an NHS approved treatment.

AND:

• Patient has a diagnosis of leukaemia, MDS, or an MPN.

Previous recipients of the Leukaemia Care Hospital Travel Fund or hardship grant will be considered but may not receive the full cash grant. Please contact us before applying if you have received either of these grants.

One grant per family and grants cannot be applied for retrospectively. If you are not currently receiving CAR-T, you may be eligible for our financial hardship fund instead.

Dalata Hotel Group is a collection of hotel brands. We are identified that each CAR-T centre in the UK has a Dalata Hotel Group hotel nearby, within the criteria required by CAR-T hospitals to stay within reach of the hospital. Often these are really close by.

The CAR-T hospitals and nearby hotels are:

Great Northern Children’s Hospital
Maldron Hotel Newcastle

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Clayton Hotel Leeds

Manchester Royal Infirmary
Maldron Hotel Manchester City Centre

Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital
Clayton Hotel Manchester Airport

Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Birmingham)
Clayton Hotel Birmingham

Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (Glasgow)
Clayton Hotel Glasgow City

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Clayton Hotel Cambridge

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust
Clayton Hotel Bristol City

University College Hospital
Clayton Hotel Chiswick

Great Ormond Street Hospital
Clayton Hotel City of London

There are two ways to apply:

1. Online via clicking here.

If applying online:

• We will not ask you for any bank details. If you are successful we will contact you directly for these.
• We will still require a copy of a letter from your consultant confirming your diagnosis (scan and/or photocopies are acceptable). When your application form has been received we will email you for this. You can supply in advance by emailing it to advocacy@leuakemiacare.org.uk if you prefer.

2. By downloading our paper form and sending it to us via email or in the post. The paper form can be downloaded here.

If using the paper form:

• please return to advocacy@leukaemiacare.org.uk or via post to FREEPOST RLXX-RJRA-ACRH, Leukaemia Care, One Birch Court, Blackpole East, Worcester, WR3 8SG
• Please enclose a copy of a letter from your consultant confirming your diagnosis – scan and/or photocopies are acceptable.

If you have any queries about the fund or how to complete the application form, please call the Leukaemia Care helpline on 08088 010 444 and ask to speak with Lisa Barnett.

1. We will acknowledge receipt of your application
2. Your application will be assessed by the Patient Advocacy team
3. You can expect a decision within 10 working days of Leukaemia Care assessing your application
4. All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application by email or post
5. Successful applicants will also be contacted by phone to discuss next steps
6. We may ask you to confirm your bank details by providing a paying-in slip or the top half of your bank statement

Your application will only be assessed if:

• you meet all of the eligibility criteria
• all parts of the application form are fully completed
• there are funds remaining within the CAR-T Away From Home fund for distribution

If you are applying for hotel accommodation, it is necessary to pass your details onto Dalata hotel groups to allow us to book the hotel on your behalf. By submitting the form, you consent to us doing this.

This fund would also not be possible without funding from our corporate partners. By submitting this form, you consent to us sharing the information in this form about why you need the grant anonymously through our own channels (e.g. internal reports, emails, social media) and with our corporate partners. We may also contact you to get more information about your situation. This will make sure we demonstrate the impact of the funding.

We will also ask you for feedback on receipt of the grant, to allow Leukaemia Care to measure the impact of the service once you have received the money. We will also contact you to see if we can help with anything else. Leukaemia Care has a dedicated benefits advisor and an advocacy officer who can help with accessing further grants or with other issues resulting from the diagnosis such as time off work.

We are sorry your application has been unsuccessful. This is likely due to one of two reasons; either you do not meet the eligibility criteria or, the CAR-T Support Fund has been exhausted due to high demand.

If you are not currently receiving CAR-T, you may be eligible for our financial hardship fund instead. We will contact you to see if we can help in another way.