DWP admits missing 'six' chances to help disabled woman before death

The Department for Work and Pensions has admitted multiple Universal Credit failures before a disabled woman’s death. The DWP has admitted missing multiple opportunities to record the “vulnerability” of a disabled woman whose death was later linked to failings of the benefits system.

Nazerine (known as Naz) Anderson, from Melton Mowbray, died in June last year and the DWP missed six opportunities to record her “vulnerability” on its IT system while it was reviewing her claim, an inquest heard. A coroner also heard the DWP "repeatedly failed to act on requests to direct its telephone calls and letters to her daughter", the Disability News Service warned.

Six days after receiving the final piece of correspondence from DWP, she attempted to take her own life, dying from the effects a month later in hospital. At the inquest, the DWP admitted some staff have “different access levels on departmental systems”.

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It means "some colleagues cannot pin information to claims or use the additional support function on the UC system”, the DWP added. The department vowed to rollout a campaign “to promote awareness and understanding of the additional support tab amongst UC colleagues” after the tragedy. The benefits department failed to act “despite Naz being tearful and distressed on the telephone on more than one occasion and advising the DWP of information surrounding her mental health and her inability to cope”, the inquest heard.

A DWP spokesperson said: “Our condolences remain with Ms Anderson’s family. We have responded to the coroner’s report in full, setting out support for vulnerable claimants, mandatory mental health training for frontline staff, and changes we are making in response to the report.”

The coroner said: “Despite the DWP case workers and call handlers having the availability of an additional support tab on a profile of a customer on the DWP computer system, there were 6 missed opportunities to use this facility to record vital information about Naz’s vulnerability, despite Naz being tearful and distressed on the telephone on more than one occasion and advising the DWP of information surrounding her mental health and her inability to cope.

“This meant there was no alert to DWP staff of Naz’s vulnerability and consequently no adjustment to how communication was made with Naz. The trigger for mental health decline and Adjustment Disorder continued.”