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A housebound mum took her own life as her mental health deteriorated after her benefits were incorrectly stopped, a coroner has found. A second inquest into her death saw extracts from notes

Jodey Whiting left for family members were read out, in which she said she could not pay her bills and had no food. An initial inquest following the 42-year-old's death in 2017 did not

consider the actions of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in stopping her benefits. For years, her mother Joy Dove fought a legal battle for a second inquest, going all the way to

the Court of Appeal. She told the hearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court how her daughter - who was a mother of nine, including two sets of twins - suffered from a curvature of the

spine and was later diagnosed with a brain cyst. Ms Whiting dealt with chronic pain for years, developed drug dependency and had poor mental health, Teesside Coroner's Court was told on

Monday, June 2. Coroner Clare Bailey recorded a conclusion that Ms Whiting's death was suicide "in the context of a deteriorating mental state, precipitated by the withdrawal of

state benefits". An Independent Case Examiner (ICE) report into the decision to remove Ms Whiting's benefits found that a number of mistakes had been made, that her payments should

not have been withdrawn and it recommended that the DWP pay £10,000 to her family. In a pen portrait, Ms Dove said: "Her death really impacted on me, and to learn from the ICE reports

of the number of failures by the DWP was to play was a further deep shock that I have not recovered from." Extracts from notes found alongside prescription drugs in her flat were read

in court. Bridget Dolan KC, coroner's counsel, said: "She wrote about not being able to pay her bills and having no food. In some she wrote about feeling breathless and having back

pain and trying to pay her bills and being in debt." Another note stated: "I have had enough." The coroner cited evidence from psychiatrist Dr Trevor Turner who looked into

the background of the case and who said losing her benefits was the "straw that broke the camel's back". Ms Bailey said: "Dr Turner says, and I accept, that withdrawal of

her benefits would have had an acute and pervasive effect on Jodey's mental state given her vulnerability and her emotional instability." The coroner added: "Her actions were

in the context of her benefits having been wrongly withdrawn by the DWP in circumstances where there had been five missed opportunities to avoid the significant errors. "This had the

effect of negatively impacting upon her mental health, and was the trigger to her taking a fatal overdose." 'WE WILL WRITE IN AND WE WILL EXPLAIN HOW YOU HAVE BEEN IN

HOSPITAL' In the last years of her life, Ms Whiting, who had six grandchildren, became increasingly housebound. She had a hospital stay in December 2016 after contracting pneumonia

which meant she missed a letter about her benefits, saying she needed to be medically assessed. Ms Dove said she reassured her daughter that she would help, telling the inquest: "I

said, don't you worry, we will write in and we will explain how you have been in hospital and you are still convalescing." But in January 2017, Ms Whiting was told she had missed

the medical assessment and she was therefore judged to be fit to work. As well as losing her Employment and Support Allowance, she would also lose housing and council tax benefits. Ms Dove

said when she saw her daughter, two days before her death, she was "shaking and crying" and had threatened to kill herself. The devoted mum said she was sure that the stress of

losing her benefits was the trigger for Ms Whiting to decide to take her own life. "I know my daughter and I know it was (that)," she told the inquest. "It was the fact she

couldn't find a job, the worry of paying bills and being pushed out after being so vulnerable all those years and years." Her father Eric Whiting said in his tribute in court, how

she was like the "Pied Piper" as she always had children around her who adored her. He added: "She always saw the fun side of life until her health issues started."

'WE STILL HAVE MORE WORK TO DO' Helga Swidenbank, a DWP director for disability services, said the organisation should have recognised that Ms Whiting had "good cause"

not to attend a health assessment, given her illnesses and mental health concerns. The witness told the hearing: "I was not in post at the time but those who I have spoken to are deeply

regretful and sorry about what happened. "There were a number of opportunities to have picked up concerns about Jodey and we are very sorry about that." Ms Swidenbank said the

organisation was now more focused on people's vulnerabilities, although this remained a "work in progress". She added: "I understand that there is a culture shift from

being process-driven to being much more compassionate. "We are not there yet, we still have more work to do." JOIN TEESSIDE LIVE'S WHATSAPP COMMUNITY FOR TOP STORIES AND

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