Bankruptcy 'only option' to care for dying husband

A widow is calling for more financial support for carers after she said she was forced into bankruptcy while caring for her dying husband.

Audrey Buckham, 64, of Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, had £10,000 of debt and recalled she and partner Eddie "cried together" about their finances while he was in the final stages of pancreatic cancer.

Mr Buckham had been too ill to carry on working as a delivery driver and his wife also had to give up her job as an NHS administrator to care for him before he died in 2022.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said the government was looking at whether employers should offer leave to carers looking after the terminally ill.

Mrs Buckham said: "It got to the point where I couldn't go on anymore and I thought 'what am I going to do when Eddie dies and I don't even have his benefits'.

"I made the decision I had to do something, so I went to Eddie and I said, 'We have got money problems and I'm going to have to declare myself bankrupt.'

"He felt as if it was his fault. He was really upset, so both of us cried together."

She also said she was distressed when a bank shut down the couple's account because of the bankruptcy proceedings, meaning they could not access their money.

During her husband's final weeks, Mrs Buckham had to help him set up a new account in his name and write a note to the bank to ensure she could access it after his death.

She said the bankruptcy also caused complications accessing a funeral policy.

"At one stage, I was worried I wouldn't be able to pay for his funeral," she said.

"You shouldn't have to be worried about money when you're looking after someone who is dying."

Mrs Buckham has signed a petition set up by the charity Marie Curie calling for more support for carers of the terminally ill.

A study by the University of Sheffield found an estimated 15% of 762,000 people who care for the terminally ill each year are living in poverty, with that figure rising in the months after bereavement.

Marie Curie is calling for changes to the benefit system including an increase in Carer's Allowance and for payments to continue for six months after bereavement.

The charity also wants carers to have a right to paid leave from work.

In a statement the DWP said: "Carers may be entitled to bereavement support payments which can be claimed within three months of a death of a partner they were caring for.

"We know carers need help and support to return to work, which is why there is a range of support available from the department, including skills training, career advice, job search help and access to the flexible support fund to aid job entry."

Mrs Buckham is now out of bankruptcy and working again in the NHS.

She said: "There should be help there from the start for carers and families.

"As soon as you're sick and you're told that you're terminally ill, you shouldn't have to worry about where the next penny is coming from."

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