Coronavirus: Petition on NHS Wales staff funeral costs taken forward

A petition calling for funeral costs of NHS staff who die with coronavirus to be covered by the Welsh Government will be taken forward.

The 400-signature petition says refusing to pay modest funeral costs "undervalued the risk" for health workers .

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said a £60,000 death-in-service benefit should help cover financial hardship.

But the Senedd's petitions committee said it should be considered further.

"It is an incredibly difficult time for anyone," said Jane Henderson, who started the petition with her Cardiff University colleague Karin Wahl-Jorgensen.

"It's just terrible for families who have lost people, families who have lost their mum or their sister, because they have been working for the health service.

"I just think that tiny bit of additional trauma should be taken away from families."

Prof Henderson helped start the petition after a friend who worked as a nurse died with Covid-19.

"We saw her family having to rely on the kindness of friends and family to fund the funeral at such an awful time.

"None of us minded helping such a wonderful family, but these costs and the decisions as to how to manage them are yet another burden to a family in the throes of grief."

As of 28 April, more than 100 NHS staff had officially died with coronavirus across the UK.

Prof Henderson said it was imperative funds to assist bereaved families with funerals be made available within a day of their death to ensure ceremonies can take place in accordance with any religious or cultural requirements.

Cardiff-based law firm Albany Solicitors also wrote a submission in support of the petition, asking that all NHS workers, not just those with British citizenship or residency, be entitled to any payment.

It pointed out the "vast majority" of non-British staff who work for NHS trusts are prohibited from claiming public funds in the UK for a period of either five or 10 years, depending on their visa.

In response to the petition, Mr Gething said the death-in-service benefit announced in April went "some way to offer greater peace of mind and alleviate some financial hardship arising".

And a Welsh Parliament brief provided to the committee says, while the announcement of the payment did not "specifically mention" it would help pay funeral expenses, this was "nevertheless implied".

But Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd (MS), Leanne Wood, told the petitions committee meeting separate funeral payments should be considered for NHS staff.

She said it was a "much wider" issue, with carers, supermarket workers, taxi and bus drivers, and refuse collectors all facing "serious risk".

"I think all workers who have died as a result of Covid, in the work that they do, deserve to have their funerals covered by the state at the very minimum," she said.

South Wales Central MS Neil McEvoy said the committee should also write to Mr Gething to clarify whether the death-in-service benefit was payable to NHS workers who are not British citizens nor residents.

In a statement, the Welsh Government said the scheme aimed "to help alleviate some of the financial hardship arising from the loss of a loved one and is in addition to any existing pension benefits".

"Some of the details around the administration of the scheme are being finalised and will be confirmed shortly," a spokeswoman said.