Marie Curie voices cost of living crisis concerns for terminally ill

THE cost-of-living crisis is pushing Scottish people affected by terminal illness to “breaking point,” says the end-of-life charity Marie Curie.

Calls to its support line from people worried about their finances have increased by over a third since last year, with one in five calls now about the cost-of-living crisis.

Nearly 80 per cent of callers surveyed were concerned about whether they or their loved one would be able to keep their home warm this winter while 61 per cent thought they or their loved one would struggle to pay their energy bills.

The charity have also unveiled a new survey, conducted by Opinium, that shows the majority of people (75 per cent) in Scotland would struggle to pay their energy bills if they were diagnosed with a terminal illness and unable to work, women were particularly affected (78 per cent).

Nearly a third of respondents said they would have no financial safety net other than benefits (32 per cent).

The survey also revealed that 94 per cent of people who know somebody that is terminally ill are concerned about how they will keep warm this winter.

Terminally ill people’s conditions often make them feel colder meaning they often have energy bills thousands of pounds higher than the average household due to the medical need to stay warm and power medical equipment.

Marie Curie’s Dying in Poverty campaign is calling on the Scottish and UK governments to take urgent, targeted action to protect vulnerable families affected by terminal illness from the cost-of-living crisis.

The charity is calling on the Scottish Government to fast-track terminally ill people’s applications for the Fuel Insecurity Fund without delay; extend eligibility for the Winter Heating Payment to all terminally ill people of working age and uprate the Scottish Child Payment beyond the standard rate for terminally ill claimants of working age.

The vast majority (70 per cent) of adults surveyed believe that the Scottish Government has a responsibility to protect those who are terminally ill from falling into poverty, with similar proportions giving their backing to each of the charity’s proposals.

The charity’s campaign highlights the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on people affected by terminal illness. Research found that 8200 people die in poverty each year in Scotland, equating to one in four working age people, and one in eight pensioners.

Ellie Wagstaff, Senior Policy Manager at Marie Curie in Scotland, said: “The cost-of-living crisis is pushing people affected by terminal illness to breaking point.

"Terminal illness has no respect for people’s bank balance, personal circumstances, or age. It is those in working age who are at particular risk of falling into poverty if they become terminally ill.

“We’ve written to Scottish Government ministers...urging them to listen to the huge majority of the public who back our campaign to provide dying people with more support for energy bills and childcare, including extending eligibility for the Winter Heating Payment to all terminally ill people of working age in Scotland.

“Our survey clearly shows that the public back these measures and the figures from our support line underline how urgently this support is needed. We urge the government to take these measures. If they don’t, we fear many terminally ill people could freeze this winter.”

Marie Curie is also calling on UK government to extend eligibility of the State Pension to terminally ill people of working age. The charity are currently running a petition calling for government action at www.mariecurie.org.uk/poverty