Diabetic woman who died after benefit sanction ‘was literally killed by the government’
The current focus on Tory benefit cuts harming the mental health of claimants – leading to suicide – should not obscure the fact that government cuts can kill in other ways.
Amy Driver’s case is all-too-common; the Department for Work and Pensions sanctioned her out of Employment and Support Allowance, meaning she could not afford to manage her condition properly.
She was given useless advice and her medical condition worsened until she died.
Note also that her benefit was sanctioned because she had been summoned to a hospital appointment at the same time as she was asked to attend the Job Centre. This, also, is common.
Too common to be a coincidence, in This Writer’s opinion.
The sanction after a clash of commitments and the useless advice on managing a self-evident medical condition seem to be straight out of some DWP manual.
Of course, the death may be recorded as due to a worsening of Ms Driver’s condition and the DWP can therefore wash its hands of any responsibility.
That’s how the Tories get away with it.
A man says he blames the Government for the death of his partner who slipped into a diabetic coma after her benefits were stopped.
Amy Driver, 27, was given a four-week sanction after she missed one appointment at the Job Centre due to a hospital appointment, Clifford Watson claims.
Clifford, who cannot work due to a disability, said the halt in their income meant she couldn’t afford to eat properly – which triggered the low blood sugar attack.
When they complained Job Centre staff told her to go to a food bank, he alleges.
Clifford said: “She was told to go to a food bank – we called one and they said they didn’t have suitable food for diabetics.
“She was literally killed by the Government.”
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this should be a safeguarding charge as well as negligence on the part of all involved, to many dwp and the rest are getting away with it, there needs to be criminal cases and fi that means them getting locked up good
aktion t4 rolling along without much of a ado daily now we hear of death by government hands yet on it rolls
aktion t4 rolling along
what is “food suitable for diabetics” that the food bank is quoted to say ?
this is where the problem of the story lies, had I been in that food bank, the girl would still be alive today.
Something doesn’t ring true here.and I’m no lover of what the government are doing to the vulnerable.prescriptions are free to diabetics as stated she has a partner whom is on benefits and disability and food suitable for diabetics????
Would you let your diabetic partner go without food or anything else if their money was stopped?