The family of a claimant who died after Capita refused a home PIP assessment last year have blamed the DWP for her death because of a failure to safeguard her.
Philippa Day, 27 and mother of a young child, died last October as a result of an insulin overdose.
A letter was found beside her body refusing to allow her to have a PIP medical at home and instead obliging her to attend a face-to-face assessment at an assessment centre. Her family believe she took her own life as a result. An inquest began on Friday.
Philippa was diabetic and had been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder which resulted in her being afraid to leave home following an abusive relationship..
Philippa’s PIP had been stopped because, according to the Guardian of ‘missing paperwork’. She became increasingly despairing and had repeated stays in psychiatric hospitals following episodes of self-harm and drug misuse.
Philippa’s community psychiatric nurse requested that she have her PIP assessment at home because of her acute distress. But despite several such requests, Capita insisted that she must have a face-to-face assessment at an assessment centre.
Philippa’s sister Imogen told the Guardian:
“What needs highlighting in this case is that my sister was a young, pretty, middle-class white woman and they [the DWP] still ruined her life. Because of our family’s privilege it is our moral responsibility to speak out. There are so many people who don’t have this voice,” she said.
“My sister bore her trauma well. She was able to connect with people and help them in her worst moments. She had ambitions to become a mental health support worker. All she wanted to do was help other people. She took that pain and made something quite wondrous with it.”
