3 December 2021

Coroner says DWP ‘must act’ after it told severely ill patient to leave hospital to make a claim for universal credit.

What: In the latest PFD report to be sent to DWP following an inquest, a coroner says the department must make urgent policy changes, after it ordered a disabled patient to leave hospital to visit a jobcentre despite being severely ill with a condition that later killed him. Health professionals had told the inquest into the death of Terence Talbot that they had never heard of such a “severely ill inpatient” being told by DWP to leave hospital to make a benefit claim in person. DWP would later refuse to make any changes to its procedures, claiming it had not been aware of the “severity of Mr Talbot’s illness” at the time of his universal credit application.

Why significant: The latest case in which a coroner has warned DWP that other claimants could die if it does not make urgent changes to how the department deals with claimants.