Dr Wood left the company after his bosses asked him to declare a person he
felt was severely ill “fit for work”.
There has been an astonishing response from readers, a deluge of personal
horror stories about the Work Capability Assessment.
Every
letter supports what Dr Wood claimed – that following the election of the
Coalition government, the WCA was made more stringent and is “cracking down on
people who can’t defend themselves”.
One of the hardest to read came from Sarah, a woman from Northumberland who
wishes to remain anonymous.
Over her last three Atos assessments she has gone from 21 points to 0 –
despite suffering a chronic back condition that has left her barely able to
move.
With her benefits cut, she feels such a burden on her family that she has
contemplated taking her own life.
“Instead, six months ago,” 47-year-old Sarah says, “I started suffering some
gastro-intestinal problems, the kind you see on adverts followed by the advice
to see your GP in case it’s cancer. I’ve been ignoring them… if it’s cancer then
nobody needs to feel bad when I die…”
Another came from a man saying that if his WCA appeal fails he intends to
stop his thyroid medication which would kill him in a fortnight. He compared his
political stance with that of Bobby Sands, the IRA man who died on a hunger
strike.
There were also tales of eye-watering incompetence.
Last week, a couple of days after Liam Byrne, Labour spokesman on social
security, accused the Department for Work and Pensions of being “guilty of
incompetence on an industrial scale,” a woman called Lyn Bruce signed for a
package from the DWP.
For seven months she has been appealing against being found fit for work.
Inside – in a huge breach of data protection – was a 260-page medical report on
a woman called Shelley Maxwell.
Lyn, 54, is a former bakery manager from Kettering, Northants. Shelley, 51,
is a former office worker from a village near Buxton, Derbys.
Lyn has four prolapsed spinal discs, a muscle-wasting illness, depression and
a hole in the heart.
She asked for her paperwork after going from 32 to 0 points at her WCA.
Shelley suffers from lifelong debilitating sleep disorders, diabetes, anxiety
and depression. She is currently appealing a decision to cut the disability
premium to her income support.
When Lyn opened the package, she panicked. She says: “Who had got my files
and all my personal information?” She rang the DWP but also called Shelley to
warn her that her notes were in the wrong hands. “We are both making an official
complaint,” Shelley adds.
Shelley hasn’t been able to pay utility bills since her income support was
cut. “Gas, electric, water – they are mounting up. I’ve even stopped opening
them,” she says.
Lyn has still not received her notes. Meanwhile, on her reduced benefit, her
family is struggling to pay the mortgage. “It’s just so much worry,” Lyn says.
“You hear of people who’ve committed suicide, well that’s gone through my mind
more than once. They’ve scored me zero points. Thay are calling me a liar. I
can’t bear it. They’re messing with people’s lives.”
The DWP says: “We take the protection of people’s personal information very
seriously. This was a regrettable case of human error and we have apologised to
both people involved. We also visited Mrs Bruce to ensure the document was
returned safely.”
It adds: “We have considerably improved the Work Capability Assessment
process. The percentage of people entitled to Employment and Support Allowance
is now at its highest level with over half of people completing a WCA eligible
for the benefit, but everyone has the right to appeal a decision if they
disagree.”
So far, Lyn’s appeal has taken 28 weeks. Atos appeal tribunals cost the
taxpayer £15million last year.
Last week, the cost of the welfare “reforms” were estimated at £1.4billion.
No wonder, despite draconian cuts, the bill keeps soaring.
Meanwhile, a leaked survey has revealed DWP staff working on the universal
credit system found the work was “soul destroying” and said there was zero
leadership.
Yesterday the charity Parkinson’s UK joined the fray, saying that 45% of
people with lifelong illnesses like Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis and cystic
fibrosis were told they should work – and accusing the Government of
“unspeakable failure”.
Today, this newspaper tells how people are charged up to £130 for the
paperwork for WCA appeals. And of a wheelchair user who applied for a job at
Atos but couldn’t get to the interview because the lift only went to the fifth
floor.
Welfare reform is the most cynical of this cynical Government’s policies.
This is the human equivalent of fracking – a violently destructive force that
tears through vulnerable fault lines, the weakest parts first.
Yet where is the mass opposition standing alongside disability groups like
DPAC and Atos Miracles? Where are the celebrities? The sympathy is greater for
badgers than for disabled welfare claimants.
“I’ve been accosted in the street by strangers and berated for being a
‘leech’ because I walk with a stick,” Sarah writes. “Twice I’ve had both abuse
and missiles hurled at me from moving cars.”
If Sarah lets cancer take over her body, that’s one less person on the sick,
right?
