Tens of hundreds of most cancers sufferers have seen their bodily and psychological well being undergo as they face “unacceptable” delays for very important monetary help, a number one charity has stated.
There wanted to be “immediate action” to scale back ready instances for assist with additional residing prices for individuals with long-term situations, based on Macmillan Cancer Support.
Official knowledge exhibits the typical ready time for this fee is sort of 5 months.
Around 250,000 individuals with most cancers are believed to obtain this monetary help from the federal government known as Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Nearly 30 per cent – or 75,000 – have seen their bodily and psychological well being deteriorate whereas ready for it to return by way of, based on a survey by Macmillan.
Out of those that needed to wait greater than 11 weeks for his or her first fee, virtually half – 46 per cent – within the ballot stated their well being declined throughout this time.
Kathy Morse needed to wait almost a yr to obtain help for her residing prices by way of PIP after being recognized with a uncommon vaginal most cancers.
The 55-year-old from Salford, who misplaced her job in a faculty throughout her most cancers battle, was rejected for the monetary help the primary time she utilized, inflicting her much more stress.
“You’re in an uncontrollable situation when you’ve got cancer. You can’t control the illness. And then you’re trying to control your finances and security,” she advised The Independent.
Ms Morse added: “I’m not an anxious person. The only time I’ve been anxious was through this PIP system.”
The 55-year-old, who remains to be out of labor, stated the PIP funds are a lifeline for her. The additional money helps her to get to most cancers appointments and take lessons to maintain her shifting, she stated.
Ciaran Norris from Macmillan Cancer Support stated the federal government wanted to take “immediate action” to scale back ready instances for PIP funds.
“It’s unacceptable that people living with cancer are left waiting months on end to receive the financial support they desperately need,” he stated. “We are now in a critical situation, which needs bold action to match the scale of the challenge people are facing.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson stated: “We understand how difficult and life-altering a cancer diagnosis can be which is why we’re committed to getting people the support they’re entitled to as quickly as possible, and we will backdate awards to ensure no one misses out.
“We support millions of people each year and continue to improve our PIP service by boosting resources and opening up assessments by phone and video, with process times now down by eight weeks on last year.”
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk