My dad had cancer diabetes, a heart condition, anxiety and pancreatitis but they axed his benefits and he died with just £8 left to his name
Joseph died 15 days before PIP appeal
A DAD suffering from cancer died destitute with just £8 in his bank account because heartless benefits officials ruled he was fit for work.
Son Joe, 32, had no idea just how poor Joseph MacMillan was but was convinced he was not fit for work due to his illness.
He said: “He was like a concentration camp victim. He was just skin and bones.
“My dad was on that benefit because he was clearly unable to work and then in March they took it away and he never received it since. He was obviously not well enough to work because he died.”
Joseph had to have his nose amputated because of the disease. He also suffered from diabetes, pancreatitis, a heart condition and anxiety and depression linked to his cancer.
His death on August 9 came 15 days before his appeal against having his personal independence payment cut.
He had to postpone an earlier appeal in July because he was too ill to attend. But he had been without PIP since March, costing him around £550 a month. Joe, a chef, said: “He was on a benefit called PIP but the Tory Government are trying to get people off benefits so he had to go to an assessment.
“As far as I am aware it is not even a nurse who does some of these things. It is a physiotherapist.
“My dad was quite confused and wouldn’t admit to being as ill as he was.
“He could get up and down the stairs and make a cup of tea and apparently that fitted the criteria for him not qualifying for PIP.”
Without cash, Joseph relied on charity from his big sister Roseanne Hill, 58.The siblings shared a house in Dennistoun, Glasgow. Caring for his son Elliott, three, and holding down a full-time job meant Joe didn’t see his dad as often as he would have liked and while he spoke to him on the phone twice a week he had no idea how poor he actually was.
Joe added: “He died destitute and it was all so unnecessary.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Mr MacMillan at this difficult time.”
He added: “Assessments for PIP eligibility are not to do with an individual’s ability to work or not but on what impact their medical condition or disability has on their day-to-day lives.”