Robyn Taylor, 34, had a stroke while visiting her parents Anthony and Karen in Spain, but her Universal Credit payments were stopped after she was hospitalised
The family of a woman who suffered a tragic stroke have said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) halted her Universal Credit payment while she was hospitalised abroad. The 34-year-old from Macclesfield had informed the DWP of her trip to Spain to see her parents, in accordance with the rules.
Tragically, Robyn suffered a stroke that left her partially paralysed and blind in one eye on September 10, just before she was set to return to the UK. During her emergency treatment in Spain, her family discovered that her GHIC card failed to cover essential rehabilitation surgeries, effectively stranding her.
Now she faces a long recovery and an expensive return journey. Robyn’s stepdad Anthony said: “We’re just blindsided, just completely blindsided. Your world turns upside down and everything stops.”
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, he recounted the toll the crisis has taken: “You become physically and mentally exhausted. It just consumes you like it would everybody. You just have to remain positive and just keep going.”
The family is now rallying together to fund an ambulance journey for Robyn back to Britain because she’s too sick to fly, ensuring she receives the necessary care such as physiotherapy and speech therapy. Robyn, who was hospitalised abroad, faced financial turmoil after her benefits were halted due to the extended stay outside the UK.
Anthony said: “Because Robyn was in between jobs she was receiving Universal Credit. She said before she came, I need to make a phone call, you’re allowed to be out of the country for a month before it affects it. She did that and they said that’s fine.
“He [Robyn’s DWP advisor] was due to phone her up, it happened. They stopped her universal credit because she was out of the country for four weeks, that meant her rent got stopped. Then we had people saying she is in debt, we said we can’t afford to pay that and she’s in a coma. We sent them the medical report and everything.”
Anthony described the ordeal as “traumatic” but added: “Hopefully we can get her back and into rehabilitation. It’s just getting her back. We’ll be going over with her. At the moment the priority is getting Robyn to the UK.”
It will cost around £12,500 to transport Robyn back to the UK via land ambulance, which she will need to access the necessary stroke rehabilitation services.
He lamented the lack of support, saying: “You’re not covered for rehabilitation, you’re not covered for anything but emergency care. We phoned everyone, the UK government, the Spanish government, and got told there’s nothing they can do.”
He concluded with concern for Robyn’s current state, adding: “She’s not receiving any rehabilitation, she’s being cared for. They’re administering medication for her. We need to do something about it, but we didn’t have the money to get her back. It’s a full medical repatriation from bed to bed by road.”
To help get Robyn home after her tragic ordeal, her family have set up a fundraising page. But three months after the incident, she remains stranded in Spain.
Anthony recalled the day Robyn fell ill: “Robyn came over, she was here for a week. The day before she was due to fly home she collapsed. I found her in her bedroom. We realised that something was seriously wrong and we phoned an ambulance.”
After the incident, Robyn was rushed to Arrixaca Hospital in Murcia City for surgery, and has since been transferred to Los Arcos Hospital in San Javier, Murcia.
Detailing her condition, Anthony revealed: “She had a stroke and she had gone back in surgery because she had a brain haemorrhage. We came home to get freshened up to go back. While we were at home they phoned up to say she had another haemorrhage. It was more serious, it was deeper than the last one.
“They put her into an induced coma for two weeks, so she was in ICU for two weeks, and it’s gone on from there. She has lost sight in her right eye and she’s paralysed down the right side. She’s awake.”
Updating on her condition, he added: “They told us she’s going to be permanently brain damaged but don’t know to what degree. She came out of ICU and went on to the neurosurgical ward. She had to have a cranioplasty, they removed part of her skull because her brain was under pressure because of huge inflammation, they had to put the skull back.”
Robyn’s cousin Stephen Sumner arranged a Just Giving page to help raise the money for her return. Robyn’s cousin Stephen Sumner arranged a Just Giving page to help raise the money for her return.
He said: “The main goal is just to get Robyn back. With the condition she’s in she needs to be bed to bed, she wouldn’t be in any fit state to get on a plane.”
A DWP spokesperson stated: “We were not provided the customer’s information to look into this case.” They added: “Millions of people rely on our welfare system every year and it is vital that it can be accessed by all who need it.”
You can support Robyn’s recovery by donating to her JustGiving page.
