Families of NHS and care workers who die of coronavirus will get £60k payout

Families of NHS and care workers killed by COVID-19 will get a £60,000 payout as health secretary announces life assurance scheme.

So far, 82 NHS staff and 16 social care staff have lost their lives to coronavirus.

Health secretary Matt Hancock revealed that the government is setting up a life assurance scheme for NHS and social care frontline colleagues, saying: “Families of staff who die from coronavirus in the course of their essential front line work will receive a £60,000 payment.

“As a government, we are looking closely at other professions that work on the frontline against coronavirus, who also do not have access to such schemes, to see where this may be required.”

He added: “Of course, nothing replaces the loss of a loved one but we want to do everything we can to support families who are dealing with this grief.”

The scheme will cover frontline NHS staff and social care workers in England and funding will also be provided to the devolved nations to support similar schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The payouts will apply to full, part-time or locum NHS and public health workers, including GPs, dentists, retired staff and second and final year students taking up paid front line roles.

The government said that within social care, the scheme will cover 'employees of publicly funded care homes, home care, directly employed carers including personal assistants and front line child and family social workers. This includes those providing direct care as well as cleaners and porters who continue to carry out vital duties in these care environments'.

Dr Vishal Sharma, chairman of the British Medical Association's (BMA) pensions committee, said: “Whilst this single payment may seem a sizeable sum, it comes nowhere near compensating families for the lifetime income their loved one may have earned if they hadn't died prematurely, fighting this crisis on the frontline.

“This is particularly true for young or recently qualified staff.

“Increasing numbers of families are dealing with the loss of a loved one as the death toll for frontline workers rises, they should not also face a future without financial security. The BMA will be examining closely the detail of the Government's life assurance scheme.”

’It must be easily accessed, open to those in social care and primary care and paid promptly’

Danny Mortimer, deputy chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents organisations across the healthcare sector, and NHS Employers chief executive added: "NHS teams are caring for patients with little thought for their own safety.

"The deaths we have experienced in the last month are a source of enormous sorrow and concern for the NHS family as a whole, and for their immediate colleagues especially.

“The government rightly provides access to a pension scheme which includes benefits for dependants in the event of an employee’s death.

"Unfortunately not all employers are members of the NHS Pension Scheme, and employers have been requesting for some time now something is instigated nationally to provide life assurance cover during the outbreak."

Donna Kinnair, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing said that the announcement will "bring reassurance to families in difficult situations," saying "no amount of cash can make up for a family member who passes away but financial security should never add to the worries of those in grief".

Ms Kinnair said the payment must be easily accessed, open to those in social care and primary care too and be paid promptly without a lengthy wait.

Employers will be asked to initiate claims on behalf of the individual’s families and claims will be verified and processed by the NHS Business Services Authority.