An
investigation into the treatment of a man who was denied benefits
despite being seriously ill and weighing 38kg (6st) before his death
has found the Department for Work and Pensions “followed policy".
Stephen
Smith from
Liverpool,
had a range of debilitating illnesses including chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, osteoarthritis and an enlarged prostate, and used
a colostomy bag. His
death was reported in April, months after he was forced to get a pass
to leave hospital to fight a decision by the department to deny him
of crucial benefits. Smith, who could barely walk, was deemed fit for
work after a work capability assessment in 2017, which meant his
employment support allowance (ESA) payments were stopped. In February
the government overturned the decision and agreed to pay back about
£4,000 in wrongly denied benefits to Smith. However, he died before
he could spend the money and it was used instead to pay for his
funeral.
Two
letters from two different doctors that had been ignored by the DWP.
One written by Dr Terence Crowley, stated
that Smith “could not mobilise a distance of 20 metres repeatedly
without needing to stop due to pain and breathlessness”.
In
response to Amber Rudd's letter, MP for Birkenhead, Frank Field said:
“What kind of policy guidance is it that fails to recognise that
somebody is seriously ill and dying? This letter heavily disguises
the fact that we’re talking about a man who lost his life, not a
package that got lost within the DWP. It sums up much of what’s
wrong with the DWP, which is apparently very short on human
sympathy.”
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