Mr. A. is a terminally ill cancer patient who came to us in October 2016. We succeeded in making the last part of his life comfortable and dignified.
Mr. A. has been living and working in the UK for the past several years. He has been successfully running his own company, paying taxes and never claiming any benefits. He came for help to our office in October 2016 as a 61 years old man suffering from terminal cancer.
He had been undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatment, was very weak and had both care and mobility needs. In his case we had to act very fast. We did a quick benefit check and started to apply for relevant social support for a person in his situation.
It took a lot of effort, but we were able to claim benefits under the old rules and avoided the new Universal Credit, which stipulates a minimum six weeks wait for the first payment, if awarded.
Within a short while we succeeded in attaining Personal Independent Payment for Mr. A., Employment and Support Allowance and Council Tax support. Moreover, we put him in touch with a specialist centre that regularly provides him with therapy, social and leisure activities.
Eastern European Citizens in the UK often don’t know their rights and are less likely to access the NHS and out of work benefits they are entitled to.