The Government needs to do more to prevent people dying in poverty - Edson Masunda

Marie Curie, the UK’s end of life charity, believes people affected by terminal illness should be making the most of their final moments together, not worrying about money.

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

We know people of working age are almost twice as likely to fall into poverty if they're diagnosed with a terminal illness than pensioners. Often this is due to being forced to quit work just as their expenses skyrocket, or partners having to sacrifice their working hours (and pay) to help with care.

Pensions are meant to be there for us at the end of our lives. But if you're unfortunate enough to die before 65, you miss out – even if you've paid into the system your whole life.

Additionally, Marie Curie is asking for dying people to get more help with soaring energy bills and with childcare costs.

Our nurses are seeing patients who are afraid to boil their kettles and are sitting in cold homes because they can’t afford to run both their specialist medical equipment and keep the heating on.

With these extra bills totting up, essentials such as childcare can also become unaffordable.

One Leeds resident, who signed our petition to give early access to pensions, told us: “My husband, 39, has a terminal brain tumour. He is still working full time because we can't afford him not to. We have a young family and worry about the day he won't be able to work anymore as our finances are struggling now.”

Another Leeds resident told us: “My father died at 60 - four months after being diagnosed with malignant melanoma. He didn't have a lot and felt he had to continue working for as long as he could to ensure he could have the heating on and some food in his cupboards.

“He died with £20 in his wallet, struggling financially when he faced the biggest battle. It was heart-breaking.”

But it’s not just working age people that we want to help. In Leeds alone, 14 per cent of people who die at pension age also die in poverty. They need more targeted support from the government too.

We have also seen calls to our support line from people worried about their finances rise by over a third since last year.

One in five of all calls we receive are 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. And 61 per cent thought they or their loved one would struggle to pay their energy bills.

Meanwhile the vast majority, 72 per cent, of UK adults surveyed believe that the UK 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.

So now is the time for the government to do more.

Although we welcomed last week’s decision to increase benefits in line with inflation, that alone won't stop people with terminal illness slipping into poverty.

There are things you can do to help. You can sign our petition, which already has more than 155,000 signatures - at www.mariecurie.org.uk/poverty

You can write to your MP and urge them to take action, and you can support our work by making a donation.

You can also contact me on [email protected] for information on how you can support our fundraising efforts.

Edson Masunda is the community fundraiser in Leeds for Marie Curie.