Thursday 10 November 2011

Fit For Work. Anecdotally.

Another assessment story. Working well eh politicians?


"I was talking to a young acquaintance from Huddersfield yesterday whose mum was summoned to one of the Government's Work Capability Assessments to make sure she is not being a nasty dole scum scrounger. They also stopped her benefits while this was being carried out. My chum is her full-time carer.

My chum took her down to the assessment having to push her in her wheelchair (about 1 mile) as they didn't have the cash for a taxi.

When they got there the bod from the vile ATOS decided that she probably wasn't suitable to be considered for for work. This might be because she was blind, had had an epileptic fit in the waiting room and is severely impaired through a stroke. They agreed to reinstate her benefits but it will take nine weeks for that to happen.  His carers allowance seems to have been stopped as well.

She is under consideration for going into residential care in the New Year her condition has deteriorated and if so, it also means that he could be homeless and without income as he’d lose his carer benefits.  He’s no qualifications either as he’s looked after mum since he was 14 (he’s late twenties now). 

They are having to receive food parcels now every few days because they have no income.
 

25 comments:

  1. It's depressing and make me worried about any assessment I could be summoned to. I want to work and actually do voluntary stuff without telling the powers that be. My illness doesn;t allow me to preduct when I am going to be well and as I need treatment and meds up to four times a week, what employer will take me on?


    Why don't they get that being disabled doesn't equate to being workshy.

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  2. I am beginning to understand the true meaning of “I wish I had never been born”

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  3. Oh yes the sad failings of a system that is going to protect the most deserving, vulnerable and let us not forget genuine. i for one am happy that this is happening because it will if were luck highlight our plight even further just like the sad story yesterday.

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  4. Sickening.

    I'll remain nameless on this comment in case it lands me in legal trouble with Atos but they kept me waiting over an hour then used this against me. Said I could wait for over an hour, in an upright position. I thought this was hilarious because it was anything but. I got up from my seat a heck of a lot and it annoyed me because that wait cost me a bed ridden spell of a few weeks. Scum. Utter scum.

    Oh yes and then this was followed up by a threatening and abusive DWP phone call in which the worker called me suspicious, lazy and said I'd be told to eff off at tribunal. Lovely customer service and manners.

    Writing to my MP and fingers crossed I can make it out to the CAB for legal advice. Tribunal people always seem a lot more polite and personable than any of the above mentioned so I'm going to be okay with that, it's just getting there.

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  5. How much TAX payer’s money has been given so far to the “sense of entitlement” corporate welfare recipients?

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  6. I have booked my place on the suicide list in any event that I should have to go through this hate campaign.
    I am so so sad that this Great country that Ive always been so proud of has become so cruel.. Im sick of hearing such hate come from narrow minded tax payers? Do they begrudge the Elderly too?
    Do they not realise this could happen to them too
    They all want to keep the welfare state, but seem happy for people to die fighting for such a thing to exist!
    Im going down fighting for this country to show more compassion to our fellow human!
    Keep at it Suey.

    Anonymous 19.39 Im not sure what you are saying?

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  7. Anonymous, 7.21 - REALLY? They said that on the phone? Exactly those words? Good Lord! Good luck at tribunal.

    Chocolatewig - Don't you DARE! xx

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  8. @Chocolatewig
    Cameron accuses the sick and disabled of having a “sense of entitlement” to welfare payments but the same is not applied to banks and corporations who receive billions of TAX payers’ money also they don’t have to jump through hoops to get it or fill out highly personal detailed forms or be subjected to tests to see if they qualify.

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  9. Also if a welfare recipient does something wrong their payment is stopped banks that do wrong get paid even more…

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  10. I do not want to name this charity because I do not want it to be confused with what I am trying to establish for the benefit of everyone including members of this group and all sick and disabled people. My questions is Why is charity money needed for this group for these things below are they not entitled to claim for the these as everyone else? I am also trying to establish if this group actually receive these things below as I have never met anyone who has to date.
    Where your money goes

    Your donation can help (type removed) live life to the full

    £5 will ensure that a housebound or hospitalised (type removed) receives a friendship visit.

    £20 could help towards providing skilled advice and an hour's legal representation at a Disability Allowance or (type removed) Pension tribunal.

    £75 could help towards providing a fresh start for an (type removed) or woman so they can them adjust to life outside the (type removed).

    £250 could buy an emergency lifeline alarm for an elderly (type removed) person or their spouse.

    £360 would give an (type removed) person or one of their dependants a much needed break at one of our (type removed) Break centres.

    £800 could provide a severely disabled person and their carer with a much needed welfare break.

    £2000 could purchase an Electrically Powered Vehicle or scooter to give elderly or disabled (type removed) back mobility and an independent life.

    £2500 could pay to install a stair lift in a home where it is needed.

    £5000 could arrange a bathroom adaptation which would assist a disabled person to perform basic functions in their home such as having a shower or washing safely.

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  11. Anon 23.09 Nope never heard of any help available like that? would be interested to know who it is.

    Suey not yet. But I know my strengths and weaknesses I cannot life the rest of my life justifying my sickness.. I know from today the quivering wreck I became just ringing the council to tell them why I thought sending bailiffs round to put the fear of god in me was cruel. And that is nothing compared to assessment.
    To Anon 20.15 Spot on.. We are guilty until proven innocent. The daily Mail headline today just adds fuel to fire.

    I have bombarded @kirstywalker1 with tweets. Im in tweet jail now so off to bed lol

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  12. The main points of neo-liberalism include:

    THE RULE OF THE MARKET. Liberating "free" enterprise or private enterprise from any bonds imposed by the government (the state) no matter how much social damage this causes. Greater openness to international trade and investment, as in NAFTA. Reduce wages by de-unionizing workers and eliminating workers' rights that had been won over many years of struggle. No more price controls. All in all, total freedom of movement for capital, goods and services. To convince us this is good for us, they say "an unregulated market is the best way to increase economic growth, which will ultimately benefit everyone." It's like Reagan's "supply-side" and "trickle-down" economics -- but somehow the wealth didn't trickle down very much.

    CUTTING PUBLIC EXPENDITURE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES like education and health care. REDUCING THE SAFETY-NET FOR THE POOR, and even maintenance of roads, bridges, water supply -- again in the name of reducing government's role. Of course, they don't oppose government subsidies and tax benefits for business.

    DEREGULATION. Reduce government regulation of everything that could diminsh profits, including protecting the environmentand safety on the job.

    PRIVATIZATION. Sell state-owned enterprises, goods and services to private investors. This includes banks, key industries, railroads, toll highways, electricity, schools, hospitals and even fresh water. Although usually done in the name of greater efficiency, which is often needed, privatization has mainly had the effect of concentrating wealth even more in a few hands and making the public pay even more for its needs.

    ELIMINATING THE CONCEPT OF "THE PUBLIC GOOD" or "COMMUNITY" and replacing it with "individual responsibility." Pressuring the poorest people in a society to find solutions to their lack of health care, education and social security all by themselves -- then blaming them, if they fail, as "lazy."
    Read more here
    http://corpwatch.org/article.php?id=376

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  13. @Chocolatewig
    Over the past week you either donated to it yourself or have seen many people who have.

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  14. The charity of course is the Poppy appeal and the British legion, and yes the money does go to the ex soldiers and their families unless somebody knows different. and I do not under stand why you have removed the names .Your donation can help our heroes live life to the full

    £5 will ensure that a housebound or hospitalised person receives a friendship visit.

    £20 could help towards providing skilled advice and an hour’s legal representation at a Disability Allowance or War Pension tribunal.

    £75 could help towards providing a fresh start for an ex-Service man or woman so they can them adjust to life outside the Services.

    £250 could buy an emergency lifeline alarm for an elderly ex-service person or their spouse.

    £360 would give an ex-Service person or one of their dependants a much needed break at one of our Poppy Break centres.

    £800 could provide a severely disabled person and their carer with a much needed welfare break.

    £2000 could purchase an Electrically Powered Vehicle or scooter to give elderly or disabled veterans back mobility and an independent life.

    £2500 could pay to install a stair lift in a home where it is needed.

    £5000 could arrange a bathroom adaptation which would assist a disabled person to perform basic functions in their home such as having a shower or washing safely.

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  15. @Robert
    An erudite and concerned disabled military veteran Mrs S... contacted me to say she had spent what little strength she has on research and has additional information that was useful in her dealings with the Service Pensions Veterans Agency (SVPA) (www.veterans-uk.info) and ATOS Healthcare (www.atoshealthcare.com).
    The quality of a number of these medical reports is regarded as "dubious" at best and proven "unsound" in the case that this website highlights.
    http://www.whywaitforever.com/dwpatosveterans.html
    Why do so many find themselves homeless?
    Approximately one in five homeless adults around the US is a veteran.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13983279

    One in four UK servicemen find themselves homeless after demobilisation.
    http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/exclusive/isolation.php

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  16. well as you guys know i have had problems with the DWP for 30 years but I'm still here and still battling my last battle i won £500 because they said i owed them £5500 when after a one year investigation they owed me £500
    God knows what the cost was for getting it wrong to the uk tax payer

    What's wrong with the DWP/ATOS is very simple in that there are a few very evil Hitler type of people who work there and that is very regrettable but then there are very nasty people in the world anyhow like in any public body

    The best you can do is to make sure like i have and that is to have two care workers that look after me one for my physical health and one for my mental health and that is as much as you can do to help yourself

    It is difficult and is probably the hardest thing that anyone in life can undertake and that's to fall foul of the DWP or to be a victim of the DWP /ATOS

    The natural reaction is to kill yourself as they the DWP are like killer sharks they will never let up until they have killed you i think some of them that work there enjoy the chase and enviable the death of the victim

    The other natural reaction is to do as the Tunisian did The Man Who Set Himself and Tunisia on Fire and sparked a revolution and for some it may come to that so that the uk can be free from evil

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  17. Yes we know, but blaming the British legion worries me especially when your ANON, tell us your name who you are and what your doing.

    I think knocking the Poppy appeal on a day like this is worrying.

    And what the Yanks do is up to them.

    ATOS is a problem for all of us, not just the Ex Military, but to day of all days to write this up.

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  18. See were being attacked again in mail and telegraph they are really scared of us you know. lets hope the HOL can see through their tactics.. NOT.

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  19. When a new product say a car is being built everyone of its suppliers contribute to the car, it could be bumpers, mirrors, you get the picture. but what has to happen is that in the process there is whats known in the trade as a DFMEA (design failure mode effects analysis) what this means in brief is that the part is actually scored on the severity of the failure so if for example some supplier is supplying the wheel nuts they have to be 100% certain that the nut wont just fall off ( i know this is boring stuff but bear with me please) but if there is a chance then a score would be given out on that happening. Then once its gone into production its always monitored by the amount of issues the customer gets regarding this and then this is acted upon by the supplier by what is known as a FMEA (failure mode effects analysis) and actions taken to ensure it wont happen again. The point i am making is what provisions are the DWP taking to ensure people are not dying, starving, suicidal when they make these ridiculous decisions about Fit FOR Work. Thanks for bearing with me folks

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  20. Does the government help those that are still alive from all of the wars ?

    Do they get all of the help they need like first on the housing register from when they return back from overseas

    or if retired do they get all of the benefits that there entitled to ?
    The answer is no the government couldn't care less about poppy day and they should be banned from even wearing it. This government are the worst in British history for caring and to see them wearing their poppy's is outrageous and one of my elderly neighbours totally agrees with me

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  21. Fourbanks it like everything else in this world once your finished and you retired your less use to the country.

    Like when a soldier died his wife was given six weeks notice, now of course they will have their names placed at the top of the waiting list for housing.

    Do people get all the benefits they are entitled to, depends on what you mean, a lad by me had his leg shot off, he's now a fully trained electrician who was found a job with a council, I'm a fully trained electrician and cannot get a job.

    So it like life some of it's good some of it bad.

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  22. The system has been this way for a while and the cuts only make it worse.
    I suffer from Crohn's Disease and Fibromyalgia, due to which, I am in constant pain, going through plenty of ops and unable to keep or get a job. A few years back I plucked the courage and applied for Disability Living Allowance - what a mistake! After taking weeks to fill in the degrading and painful forms, I sent the request. A doctor was sent to my home for an assessment. At the end of that assessment he announced that since, on average, I can cut a carrot most days, I don't deserve the DLA. I haven't applied since.

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  23. I just think Robert the government should do more when the forces have come back and be seen to do more by the public

    A good leader always makes sure that others are being not only cared for but looked after properly David Cameron is not that man and never will be so the public need to think on who is the right person to run this country at the next election ?

    There isn't anyone like myself as a mp at the present time so we will be stuck at least for the next ten years but I'm hopeful that someone like myself will come out of the woodwork and show true world leadership over the next 20 years

    It will be to late for me but i cant be the only one in the uk society who believe in the sick and disabled and their values and the joy they can be

    maybe at this time I'm the odd one out but we must hope and pray that the likes of my daughter at uni can come out with her fellow friends and turn the way the system works for a better future for all

    She is doing ok at this time and enjoying her course she still leans very heavy on me for advice and guidance but hopefully as she matures she will end up a modern version of myself (lol) and that is to put the needs of the vulnerable first it's very simple and you don't need to be Einstein

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  24. I'm afraid as you may know I'm half German with relatives in Germany, and no my farther was not Hitler, (joke).

    My relatives have said the cuts to benefits in Germany are massive, for example only those who are classified as severely disabled will keep benefits, all others will only get benefits for two years.

    But of course Laws are in place so that employers must employ the disabled , but they still have 100,000 people who cannot find work.

    But the whole of the EU including the UK will see a difference from now on the good days are long gone, only the rich will be happy

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  25. Hi Sue, replying to your comment:

    "Anonymous, 7.21 - REALLY? They said that on the phone? Exactly those words? Good Lord! Good luck at tribunal."

    Oh yessss. My partner can testify to it, too as he heard most of the conversation. I debated on whether or not to put in a complaint but thought I'd best not upset the apple cart. I know they're not there at tribunal but I am so paranoid about not getting this claim.

    When I challenged her on the phone, she backed off completely and started back-pedalling. I won't reveal any more details because I am really paranoid about being identified but it was a nasty phone call that left me very upset and shaken.

    I called up my parents after wards and felt awful about it. They strongly suggested putting forward a complaint but like I said don't want to upset the apple cart.

    I've worked my whole life apart from these two years - one of which I was job seeking - and never once felt that my tax money shouldn't go towards ESA. I don't feel entitled to ESA in the slightest now and I'm pissed off that so many people have to jump through these hoops. What a joke Atos are showing themselves to be!

    I'm all for medicals if they're accommodative of everyone but this anecdote made me ashamed to call myself British!

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