Originally posted on Beastrabban\'s Weblog:
This is another piece on Atos that I’ve found on Youtube. It’s a report
from Sky News, put up on the 18th October 2013, revealing that doctors
have officially complained about the extra workload they are being
placed under by people, who have been declared fit for work by Atos.
They also reveal that the Citizens Advice Bureau had received 150,000
complaints about Atos. The report also covers the case of Mr Cowper, a
man dying of cancer, who was nevertheless found fit for work by Atos. Mr
Cowper is only one of tens of thousands. The precise number is unknown
because the government repeatedly refuses to release the figures,
claiming that such requests are ‘vexatious’. See the relevant posts over
at
Vox Political
on Mike’s attempts to get the figures out of them.
Atos, however, are complaining that they have been victimised. Their
vice-president, Wayne Gibson, turns up on the programme to state that
they were working for the government for fifteen years with no protests.
They feel that they have been scapegoated for the government’s
policies.
Now I was first thrown off benefits when Blair/ Brown were in power. If I remember correctly, there were strong articles about Atos in Private Eye even then. Furthermore, the company cannot pass the blame wholly onto the Government. They chose to bid for the contract and administer the tests. No-one forced them. If they had an moral objections to the work, they could simply have withdrawn their services. Or, if their health care professionals are as highly trained and skilled as they said, they could have sought to change the test itself. They did not. Now I think the company is right in that the DWP must also share the blame, but this does not, by any means, excuse them.
Now I was first thrown off benefits when Blair/ Brown were in power. If I remember correctly, there were strong articles about Atos in Private Eye even then. Furthermore, the company cannot pass the blame wholly onto the Government. They chose to bid for the contract and administer the tests. No-one forced them. If they had an moral objections to the work, they could simply have withdrawn their services. Or, if their health care professionals are as highly trained and skilled as they said, they could have sought to change the test itself. They did not. Now I think the company is right in that the DWP must also share the blame, but this does not, by any means, excuse them.
