P-05-960 Fund
the funeral costs of all NHS staff who die from or with Covid-19,
Correspondence – Petitioner to Committee, 09.03.21
Dear the
Petitions committee
I
write once again the challenge the minister’s reluctance to
fund the funerals of NHS staff who die as a result of covid during
the pandemic. I have addressed many of the issues in the many
previous submissions and remind the committee, once more, that this
issue arose following a friend dying of covid whilst working as a
nurse in Cardiff and her family having to run a Crowdfunder to
cover the cost of the funeral. This is not the Wales that I want to
live in and that is why with my co-petitioners we brought this to
the Welsh government nearly a year ago. I have addressed many of
the ministers issues in the past but I will address the three from
his letter of 5th March below.
-
The minister
claims it would be difficult to identify NHS workers for the
administration of the scheme. It seems likely that all NHS
staff will have a payroll number. This is something that we have
suggested could be managed through the funeral parlours who could
request this information from anyone wishing to take up the scheme.
They could then act as a single point of contact for
confirmation. Alternatively given that the government is
funding a specific life assurance payment to NHS staff (Nursing
Times link below) announced by government in April 2020 it seems
that the government is able to identify people who are eligible,
and that process should be matched.
-
I
am sure that both the petitioners and the petition committee would
welcome an extension of the scheme beyond simply NHS staff to other
frontline care workers. It may help to address the first point to
ensure that all health and social care workers who provide publicly
funded hands-on care for people who have contracted COVID-19 or
work in settings where the virus is present are eligible for this
money. This would bring the scheme in line with the life assurance
scheme and therefore make it perfectly simple to identify the same
cohort who would be made eligible by the scheme. It does not
make sense to argue that no one can have anything because someone
else hasn't had it, we would never make progress if society
followed this rule. The government life insurance scheme has made
it clear that we recognise the above and beyond the effort being
made by our healthcare staff in the pandemic and whilst I would not
personally mind it being extended far wider the ministers other
concerns with the practicality of the scheme would suggest that
matching the eligibility to the government’s life assurance
scheme would reduce some of his administrative
concerns.
-
The minister
states that the time frame for setting up the scheme is ‘many
weeks/months’ yet this petition has been with the Welsh
Government for many months so the time frame problems appeared to
be entirely of the minister’s own making. Retrospective
reimbursement may be problematic but is not as problematic as the
family of a nurse who has died of covid desperately trying to find
money to pay for a funeral. It seems egregious for the minister to
use the ‘it'll take a long time’ argument having been
responsible for many iterations of this petition without
resolution.
I
therefore recommend the petitions committee take this to the floor
of the Senedd or directly to Mark Drakeford for decision. I think
it's time for leaders in the Welsh assembly to make it clear
whether they think that we the taxpayers should or should not pay
for the cost of funerals for health care workers who have died as a
result of covid in the pandemic. To continue to run down the clock
on this petition does not reflect well on those involved. If
providing a few 1000 pounds it's too much to ask then say so. If
it's possible to fund grant schemes for other aspects of the
pandemic it's possible to do so for NHS staff. This is simply a
question of priorities and the choices that our representatives are
making . As the elections fast approach it seems sensible that our
representatives make that decision and defend it at the
ballot.
Jane
Henderson
On
behalf of the petitioners
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/coronavirus/government-will-pay-60000-to-families-of-nurses-who-die-in-service-28-04-2020/