It Just Gets Worse...
Earlier on, as an after thought I put a link on a post saying how the cancer charity Macmillan Nurses were launching a campaign about how people with cancer are likely to be called in for a job assessment and basically asked why they are not working. Also, in an attempt to restrict any help received from welfare.
As I said previously who in their right mind would choose to have cancer and claim benefits? The people to ask for information are the Dr's and Consultants that are treating you.
The new tests don't allow you to submit information. There has to be something wrong with that.
My good friend Span mentioned its only a proposal so probably won't happen..
It has just got worse...
The Latest
I so hope that this story finds some broadcaster willing to give this maximum publicity.
I should add that of course some people will work whilst receiving treatment and find that they are strong enough either emotionally or physically. For some it will keep body and soul together but its being "forced" to attend these interviews and the reports of how the new benefit works in practice and how the assessments are conducted that worries me more.
People who can work, want to work, have to work will be doing so without being called in to an arranged and pressurised interview. Most in the population have a work ethic...so its a fair bet those not working are either too ill, have lost their job because of their illness or are out of work and probably few employers would take someone on with a known life threatening illness. Not forgetting the times you'll miss work because of being ill and/or times you need to attend a clinic or hospital for treatment.
Also, more contact should be made between those who assess you and those do the treatment and know you best, Dr's and consultant's and access to your medical records.
Many horror stories(anecdotal admittedly but too many to ignore)suggest that you are not able to submit information and tests are a question and answer procedure using computer software and boxes are ticked. You are unable to submit information in these assessments but today there is a news story that the Government may look into allowing access to private companies of medical records on the grounds of medical research. So that's alright then, you can only give information when it suits the Government not when you need to.
It won't happen but we should allow your GP to tell it how it is and stuff these private companies getting rich on the back of the ill and vulnerable. I may have said elsewhere some report that was mentioned on the radio news suggested that one in five people who are said to be sick could work and Dr's are getting it wrong when they assess their patients.
No one said how they came up with that statistic. But lets turn it on its head and say that means that four out of five are not fit so most of the time they are getting it right. And recently many who attend assessments and fail and take it to appeal actually get their benefits reinstated so even the private companies are getting it wrong.
Conditions do vary, what I suffer from(using last evening as an example) I was absolutely exhausted and could barely manage to get my body off the bed, I went out like a light and was all aches and pains for at least 12 hours.
Many tests these days have no give or take for changes like this and they are very rigid. They have to realise that one size does not fit all...
Another anecdotal example(not cancer related this time...)
A taxi driver was telling me that his wife is so blind that you virtually have to stand nose to nose for her to recognise you...she also has a condition that can shut down major organs without warning and is under a top consultant at one of the big hospitals in the area...she has been summoned to one of these assessments.
As I said previously who in their right mind would choose to have cancer and claim benefits? The people to ask for information are the Dr's and Consultants that are treating you.
The new tests don't allow you to submit information. There has to be something wrong with that.
My good friend Span mentioned its only a proposal so probably won't happen..
It has just got worse...
The Latest
I so hope that this story finds some broadcaster willing to give this maximum publicity.
I should add that of course some people will work whilst receiving treatment and find that they are strong enough either emotionally or physically. For some it will keep body and soul together but its being "forced" to attend these interviews and the reports of how the new benefit works in practice and how the assessments are conducted that worries me more.
People who can work, want to work, have to work will be doing so without being called in to an arranged and pressurised interview. Most in the population have a work ethic...so its a fair bet those not working are either too ill, have lost their job because of their illness or are out of work and probably few employers would take someone on with a known life threatening illness. Not forgetting the times you'll miss work because of being ill and/or times you need to attend a clinic or hospital for treatment.
Also, more contact should be made between those who assess you and those do the treatment and know you best, Dr's and consultant's and access to your medical records.
Many horror stories(anecdotal admittedly but too many to ignore)suggest that you are not able to submit information and tests are a question and answer procedure using computer software and boxes are ticked. You are unable to submit information in these assessments but today there is a news story that the Government may look into allowing access to private companies of medical records on the grounds of medical research. So that's alright then, you can only give information when it suits the Government not when you need to.
It won't happen but we should allow your GP to tell it how it is and stuff these private companies getting rich on the back of the ill and vulnerable. I may have said elsewhere some report that was mentioned on the radio news suggested that one in five people who are said to be sick could work and Dr's are getting it wrong when they assess their patients.
No one said how they came up with that statistic. But lets turn it on its head and say that means that four out of five are not fit so most of the time they are getting it right. And recently many who attend assessments and fail and take it to appeal actually get their benefits reinstated so even the private companies are getting it wrong.
Conditions do vary, what I suffer from(using last evening as an example) I was absolutely exhausted and could barely manage to get my body off the bed, I went out like a light and was all aches and pains for at least 12 hours.
Many tests these days have no give or take for changes like this and they are very rigid. They have to realise that one size does not fit all...
Another anecdotal example(not cancer related this time...)
A taxi driver was telling me that his wife is so blind that you virtually have to stand nose to nose for her to recognise you...she also has a condition that can shut down major organs without warning and is under a top consultant at one of the big hospitals in the area...she has been summoned to one of these assessments.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 10:37 pm
5 Comments:
Life's not fair, is it?
If ONLY Gordon hadn't wasted all the money.
If ONLY Gordon had regulated those pesky banks properly!
If ONLY Gordon hadn't borrowed so much.
The Eds seem to think that debt is cured by more debt, that too much borrowing is reduced by even more borrowing.
THE FACTS OF LIFE ARE CONSERVATIVE.
Deal with it - and don't elect Labour again.
Whizjet,
Well, I can agree that life isn't fair...was it ever.
I suppose we'll always hopefully strive to do what we can to change that.
And yes, how many times will we find ourselves saying "What if!"
It is very difficult to find much difference between the main political parties, you are more likely to find the simularities...
Thanks for leaving a comment...
Hi Gildy, I think what you link to is the same story you wrote about. And I still think it won't happen; that said you last sentence is perfectly true and proven time and again in any sector (i.e. not just health care provision)
P.S. Whizjet wasn't me in disguise...but I tend to think like that! :-)
Span,
The story has changed and moved on since approx a week ago when it came to light.
The problem is that they are catching up on those already awarded help so "we" still have to feel the pain but new claimants are already experiencing it immediately.
The problem is and here I repeat myself...there are no real difference between any of the parties that run the UK and all we do is play musical chairs or rearrange the deck chairs on the Titantic and the new party blames the previous one that was in power.
As Whizjet says many of the policies tht Labour brought in were no better regarding welfare, they had plenty of private companies running back to work schemes and seeing who was ill and could work etc...
And our present government is similar and just continuing a similar plan...so if we had an election tomorrow would things change...I doubt it!
And I have said somewhere I forget where...proposals will get through on a nod during this parliament on numbers alone...the shadow cabinet will decry what becomes law but when they come into power again and they will they'll just continue to impliment the ideas but they can say "Don't blame us" "We did not vote them in" so that way they won't be seen as the nasty party...others have done the dirty work for them.
They say there is no money and we're in austere times but they always find money for what they really want to do.
And I can understand questions being asked about what money is already being spent on such as some of the wars we've been involved in over the last couple of decades and even some of the countries we award foreign aid to...but that is subjective and there are many other examples that could be cited.
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