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Hospital cleaner dies after she cashes in pension to pay bills
A HOSPITAL cleaner who died from coronavirus leaving her two daughters orphaned was forced to quit her NHS pension to cover soaring electricity bills.
Rocketing prices compelled Judith Thorpe, 49, to cash in her pension even though she only received £210.
But by doing so she waived a potential death-in-service payout of up to £29,120 – twice her annual penionable pay of £14,560 – her family say.
Her sudden death has left her daughters Hannah, 16, and Scarlett, 13, without parents. Their dad John Lydon, 51, died from pancreatic cancer in 2015.
Judith tested positive for Covid last Saturday and was taken to hospital on Monday after having a seizure.
She was diagnosed as brain dead and her family decided to withdraw life support on Wednesday.
Doctors believed the virus entered her spinal cord and spread to her brain. Fewer than 20 people in the world are thought to have been afflicted in such a way.
Judith’s girls are now being cared for in their family home in Newcastle by their half-brother Lewis and his fiancee Abbie, both 24.
Judith had only started paying into the pension scheme from November when she started her £10-an-hour job at the city’s Freeman Hospital.
Last night Lewis, a customer service adviser, told the Sunday People: “Mum never wanted the girls to know about her finances and didn’t want them to worry about asking for a treat.
“Privately, she told me she was concerned she wouldn’t be able to afford new school shoes and jumpers, as every spare penny was going towards her bills. She said to me, ‘I just can’t make it work, I can’t even afford to use the dryer’. She wouldn’t watch telly because of the electric, she’d read a book instead.”
Half of Britain’s homes will be in fuel poverty by the New Year. And despite projected rises in the energy price cap to £5,000 a year in 2023, the Government is yet to step forward with meaningful help.
Lewis said: “I’m disgusted by the Government’s handling of the situation. They have left energy giants to reap recordbreaking profits while millions of families must choose between heating or eating.
“Liz Truss said ‘profit isn’t a crime’ – but there is fundamentally no need for the blatant price gouging we are witnessing. We’re in another pandemic, again they are showing how inept they are in a crisis.” Lewis said Judith’s monthly fuel bills had more than doubled from £45 to £110 in May. The family had no knowledge she had withdrawn from her NHS pension scheme.
“I offered help but she was always too proud to take what money I could spare,” Lewis said.
“Mum never bought anything for herself. She wore the same coat for four years – and she worked tirelessly for her kids. She always said she didn’t want us to stop our lives for her.”
Abbie said: “She’d skip meals in tough times to make sure they were fed.
“Judith would have thought ‘right now I need to make sure I’ve got electricity for my daughters. Not paying my pension is going to keep the lights on.
“We hope someone in the NHS will look at this and see if there’s something that can be done to help her children.”
A Gofundme appeal has been launched towards funeral costs and to support Lewis, Hannah and Scarlett.lewis said: “We are all devastated by her passing.”
feedback@people.co.uk gofundme.com/f/judith-thorpefuneral-children-fund?
Voice of the Sunday People: P14
Again the Government is showing it’s inept in a crisis