Tag: Assessment

08 the same company

Posted on
She was thrilled when she got work
at a council children’s centre
but a routine health check
by a company contracted by the council
and the Department
found
she was not fit for work.
She was recovering from a five-year battle
with anorexia.
‘It would be inappropriate
to be offered employment
in this role.’
Strapped for cash
she applied for support
only to be judged
fit for work.
‘You do not have
any limited capacity
for work.
It has been decided
we cannot pay you’
The same company
carried out both assessments.

[Daily Mirror, 16/04/2010, Too unfit to work… too fit for benefits]

17 when questioned afterwards

Posted on
When questioned afterwards
the assessor claimed he couldn’t remember
if he had made any phone calls
to their son’s doctor or psychiatrist
for information about his mental health.
‘He reports self harm
in the past.
He reports he attempted an overdose
six weeks ago;
he would not say
what he took.
He reports he has had no thoughts
of suicide since.
The evidence overall suggests
he is not at substantial risk.’
The decision
was confirmed in a letter.
A month later
he took his own life.
His father said his son’s mental health
had deteriorated in the last couple of years
but he had previously been able to work intermittently
in agriculture
and labouring.
His final job was cleaning buses.
He was taking strong medication
anti-psychotics,
anti-depressants,
was experiencing
paranoid delusions.
His father said
‘his mind was gone’
He remembers finding his son’s assessment report
and his other official paperwork
scattered over the floor of his flat
after he died.
Several weeks later
Department officials
visited the family.
‘They said
“I don’t suppose it will help now
but we have reversed the decision.”’

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

23 ‘a pleasant lady to assess’

Posted on
She weighed around 5 stone
6 pounds
(34 point 4 kilos)
and was being fed by a drip.
A history of illness:
Crohn’s disease,
osteoporosis,
suffered a stroke
in 2005.
A physical assessment
described her as having
a ‘slim build’;
‘a pleasant lady to assess.’
After,
she was told her support would be stopped
and that the Department
would try to recoup
a prior overpayment.
Then she received a new diagnosis:
lung cancer;
terminal.
She submitted a form
from her doctor
to the Department.
A letter came back
a month later
to say
that the information on the form
required her to start a fresh claim.
She died the same day.

[BBC News, 08/11/2021, Hundreds of people die fighting for terminal illness benefits]

27 left in his flat

Posted on
He had been sectioned before,
could not cope
with unexpected changes.
‘Upsets my life completely.
Feel under threat and upset.
Cannot deal with social
situations. Keep myself
to myself. Do not engage
with strangers. Have no social life.
Feel anxiety and panic
in new situations.’
He had been receiving benefits for many years
as a result of enduring mental distress.
The Department stopped his allowance
and backdated that decision
to the previous month
after making two unsuccessful visits to his home
to ask him why he had not attended a face-to-face assessment.
His housing benefit was also stopped;
standard procedure.
He had just a couple of out-of-date tins of fish
left in his flat
and he weighed just four-and-a-half stone
when his body was found by bailiffs
who had knocked down his front door
to evict him.

[Disability News Service, 23/01/2020, The death of Errol Graham: Man starved to death after DWP wrongly stopped his benefits]

28 every 18 months

Posted on
He was celebrating getting a new job at a warehouse;
outside the nightclub
he was approached by five men.
One of them
struck him with a wheel brace
on the head.
Spinal damage
he cannot walk farther than a few yards.
Asthma, depression, panic attacks;
he spends most of his time in bed.
Every 18 months
he has to undergo an assessment
by the Department.
Last month,
he was told
he was no longer entitled
to any support,
after two doctors
asked him to stand up
and walk around his living room.

[The Sentinel, 21/04/2010, Dad left for dead in attack has benefits cut after 14 years]

31 when this also failed, she walked

Posted on
One of the first officers to arrive at the scene
noted evidence of a poor attempt
to clean up the mess;
watered-down blood in the kitchen.
Officers noted how her husband had blood on his clothes.
His brother, who received a call at work
urging him to rush round to the house,
had dirt on his hands.
Both men were arrested
but cleared of any involvement;
close examinations of the pattern of blood
ruled out foul play.
Her husband had woken up to find her missing.
He discovered an empty packets of painkillers,
blood,
a note.
She had been worrying about a meeting she was due to have
to discuss her entitlement to disability benefits.
Her health problems meant she had to give up
her job at the bakery. She was described
as cheerful, hardworking and trusted.
Her husband’s model shop had recently collapsed,
plunging the couple into financial difficulties.
They were forced to sell her childhood home.
It was likely
she had walked to the shed to fetch craft knives
in order to cut herself
after finding a serrated kitchen knife
was not sharp enough.
When this also failed, she walked to the Drain –
fifteen minutes from the couple’s home –
where her body was found.
She had died of drowning,
more than ten self-inflicted cuts
on her wrists.

[Hull Daily Mail (via Black Triangle Campaign), 12/07/2011, Woman who drowned in drain was upset about health check]

32 his doctor would have told them

Posted on
He had stated in the assessment form
that he had problems:
anxiety
depression.
He was unable to cope
with either support workers
or help from his family.
Because of the severity of his panic attacks
the assessment was carried out
at the cottage where he lived
alone.
His mother says he was unaware
of the purpose of the assessment
she said
neither the assessor
nor the Department
made any attempt to secure
evidence about his health.
His doctor would have told them
that he was unable to work.
The doctor told the inquest
he had visited him in extreme distress
a short time after his benefits were stopped.
The doctor handed him a note
explaining that he was extremely unwell
and completely unfit for work.
The note does not appear to have reached his local Jobcentre.
He did not take his own life, though;
four months after his benefits were stopped
he starved to death.

[Disability News Service, 02/12/2019, DWP: The Case for the Prosecution]

33 the most frugal existence

Posted on
He suffered
countless attacks
throughout his life;
he would fall
like a tree
to the ground.
He suffered
from meningitis
at five months old.
It left him brain damaged;
severe epilepsy.
He had his first attack when he was six.
Despite heavy medication
he was taken to hospital regularly.
He worked until he was 30,
but his condition was so severe
he had to leave.
He did not know when a fit would come.
Completely random.
He never went ten days without one.
He had suffered
a broken nose
cheekbone
jaw.
He had lost his front teeth.
He had split his head open
after hitting the pavement
during attacks.
He received a letter in March.
He had to attend a
‘work related activity group’
or his benefits could be cut.
He appealed:
‘I have never
been able to work
due to my epilepsy.
I had a job
but I lost my job
because they could no longer cope
with my attacks.’
The next letter, in June, informed him
his appeal had been rejected.
His family struggled to gain
detailed medical records
of his hospital visits
to make a second appeal.
He was given a month to get the information.
He became more and more worried.
On the day
his parents went round
for him to sign the appeal letter.
He had saved up enough to buy his own home.
His family helped him
make it safe,
a specially made bed, cushions
scattered to break any falls,
child-safe furniture.
With the help of benefits
he lived an independent life.
The door was open.
The curtains were closed.
He had been alone for 19 years.
He did not drink, smoke,
had the most frugal existence.
He did gardening,
wood work,
love bird watching, photography,
walking.
His parents went into the house
and found him
hanging in his bedroom.

[Daily Mirror, 23/09/2014, Man with brain damage and ‘uncontrolled’ epilepsy hanged himself when DWP threatened to cut benefits]

34 my patient will be in pain

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In his report, the first doctor
lists various serious health issues:
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
cervical spondylosis,
osteoarthritis.
In his summary, the doctor stated:
‘My patient will be in pain
on standing and
at the commencement
of walking. Whilst
on the balance of probability
he would be able to walk
20 metres in my opinion
he could not walk that distance
without pain
or exhaustion.
In terms of cooking
his very limited respiratory tolerance
and his difficulties with lifting means that
anything
other than
straightforward microwave cooking
is likely to be beyond
his capabilities.
It would be reasonable
to describe him
as requiring assistance with toilet needs;
the need to monitor and change his catheter
requires medical input.’
Despite this
the Department
continued to find him fit for work
and blocked him from receiving full benefits.
Three months later
another doctor wrote:
‘I am this patient’s General Medical Practitioner
and the custodian
of the primary medical records
they have accumulated
during their lifetime in the UK.
Following a recent assessment this patient,
in contradiction of my own knowledge over time
clinical assessment and
medical certification,
was found fit for work.
Because of my patient’s health condition
there would be a substantial risk
to his health
if he were found not to have
limited capability
for work related activity.
I disagree
with the outcome of your assessment
and support my patient
in his appeal
against your decision.’
Despite this
the Department continued to deny him
benefits.
His health – as predicted – deteriorated badly.
He developed pneumonia.
His weight dropped to six stone
(38 kilos).
Twelve months later
he left hospital
in an emaciated state
to take on the Department
at a tribunal.
The decision was overturned.
The Department agreed to backpay
four thousand pounds.
That money is now being used
to pay for his funeral.

[Liverpool Echo, 28/04/2019, Revealed: Warnings about dying Stephen Smith that were cruelly ignored by the DWP]

36 she was. she had

Posted on
She was volunteering.
She had a good social network.
She was getting married.
She was notified by letter:
she had scored zero points in her assesment
on the ninth of December.
A welfare rights officer informed her
her benefits would be reduced.
She became upset. She did not know how
she was going to pay her mortgage.
She took an overdose on New Year’s Eve.

[BBC News, 26/03/2014, Benefits assessment led to woman’s suicide says watchdog]

37 blind in one eye, barely able

Posted on
On Boxing Day
a stroke
caused a blood clot on his brain.
He was left
paralysed down his left side, unable
to speak properly,
blind in one eye, barely able
to eat
or dress.
He used a mobility scooter.
Panic alarm
around his neck
in case he fell.
He was summoned
to a work capability assessment.
The stress
caused him to have
another stroke
days before the appointment,
but he was still determined to attend.
A month later, he received a letter
telling him he would lose his benefits.
His health went
rapidly
downhill.
Constant worry;
how would he survive?
Days after his benefits were stopped
he collapsed
in the street
near his home
and died.

[Daily Record, 10/12/2012, Atos benefits bullies killed my sick dad, says devastated Kieran, 13]

39 starting from zero again

Posted on
A note was discovered on his computer
by his parents,
detailing exactly
how and when
he planned
to take his own life.
He was 28,
autistic,
diagnosed with depression.
The Department ordered him
to attend a work capability assessment.
He refused.
The Department decided
to terminate his benefits,
his only source of income.
Six years ago
he told his social workers
he did not wish to have contact
with his family.
His parents had battled to see him since
but were forbidden from knowing
where he lived.
He had previously gone
voluntarily
to the acute inpatient mental health unit
in the town where he lived
after being told about the assessment.
He was reluctant to ask for help again.
‘If I am accepted,
I will have to stay up to 28 days
or six months
in a boring and cramped environment
surrounded
by very damaged people. After which
it will be determined
that I no longer need treatment
and will be allowed to leave.
I will likely be homeless,
starting from zero again,
and the vicious cycle
will begin anew.’
Social services closed his case
after he failed to respond to letters.
The note revealed
he made three separate attempts
to hang himself
between 2016 and 2018.
He wrote:
‘Each time I failed with panic.’
He wrote:
‘I cannot be bothered to fight this
any more. I am
out of energy. I only exist
to do what I want to do.
Dealing with paperwork,
making phone calls, feeling
anxious
every day
about whether I am going to be homeless
are things I do not want to do.’
His body was discovered
in an advanced state of decomposition
nine months later
when housing association officials
called to evict.

[Milton Keynes Citizen, 16/09/2019, Autistic Milton Keynes man left suicide note on computer explaining tragic reasons he took his own life; Milton Keynes Citizen, 02/12/2020, ‘Our son’s tragic loss of life could have been avoided’, say parents of autistic Milton Keynes man whose death went unnoticed for nine months]

40 a decision was taken

Posted on
His daughter received a text
and immediately knew something was wrong.
The decision was taken
despite being told by his doctor
he was too sick to return to his job.
(He had been a painter and decorator.)
He had suffered from anxiety and depression
for six years. He also had
breathing problems
caused by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The Department had written to him
a year earlier
requesting a consultation in July.
Four days before the medical
he attended his doctor’s surgery
in a state of panic.
He was declared fit to work.
Following the decision
he lodged an appeal
but it was rejected.
His support was stopped in November.
December. His daughter had been planning
to help him take his case to a tribunal,
but she had had to leave him
to go Christmas shopping
and to pick up her children,
when she received the text.
‘I love you.’
She found him
and performed CPR
before calling an ambulance.
Three days later
a decision was taken
to turn off his life support.

[Inews, 06/06/2019, Chronically ill father died by suicide after DWP declared him fit to work and cut his benefits]

44 he may have been successful

Posted on
His former wife
gave evidence at the inquest.
They had been married for twelve years,
separating in 1995,
although they still saw each other
on a regular basis.
During the first half of their marriage
he suffered a brain haemorrhage,
leaving him paralysed down one side.
She had last seen him when he called to see her
at work.
He wanted help to go through his benefit papers.
He was worried he was going to be sent back to work.
His doctor made a statement,
said they had spoken on the phone
two weeks before he was due to attend
an appeal hearing.
He had been upset
because his benefits were being stopped
after an annual assessment.
His neighbour
was sat in his front room
watching the television
when he heard a loud bang.
He went outide and saw the man, his neighbour,
slumped in a chair.
He also saw there was a gun on the floor.
He ran inside and phoned 999.
‘Had he attended the appeal
he may have been successful’
the coroner said.
‘It is evident that the matter
was concerning him greatly.’

[Gazette and Herald, 17/04/2013, Benefits withdrawal led to man’s suicide]

46 23 minutes

Posted on
The inquest,
which lasted two days,
heard that his medical assessment
took just 23 minutes.
He suffered from HIV,
hepatitus,
sciatica,
severe depression, insomnia,
dental pain.
He had a history of self-harm,
which stemmed from abuse
as a child.
His benefits
of ninety pounds a week
were stopped
on September eighteenth.
That same day
he went online.
After writing of his disapproval
of the system
he wrote
‘It’s time to say goodbye,
goodbye.’
On September twenty-fifth
(cocktail of drugs:
heroin,
cocaine
alcohol)
he was found dead in his house.

[Nottingham Post (via Internet Archive), 09/10/2013, Sneinton man overdoses after benefits stopped]

47 two. one

Posted on
January.
She was called in for an assessment.
She and her sister
spent two hours
on two buses
travelling to the centre
for a two minute assessment.
She was only asked one question:
did you get here by bus?
53 years old,
a former nurse.
She was left partially sighted
after an industrial accident in 1987.
She required walking sticks.
She had slipped and bulging discs
in her back and neck
after an accident at work.
Her pain was exacerbated after an unsuccessful operation in 2012.
Bones from her hand were removed
during separate surgery
after she was savaged by a dog.
Every time one of her arms was touched
she was left in agony
strong pain relief could not ease.
Did you get here by bus?
She replied
‘Yes.’
She was found fit to work.
Her benefits were stopped.
She hadn’t even had the chance
to take her coat off.
Later, she received a letter
telling her to find employment.
She lost her appeal against the decision.
In November,
thirteen days before her second appeal
she was found
on her kitchen floor.

[Daily Mirror, 26/11/2013, Sick nurse killed herself after disability benefits were cut and she was ruled ‘fit to work’ ; Daily Record, 27/11/2014, Former nurse killed herself after controversial ATOS health test ruled she was fit for work ; Bristol Post (via the Internet Archive), 25/11/2013, Bristol woman ‘killed herself after benefits were stopped’]

49 there were complications

Posted on
She had her first transplant
heart and lungs
in 1985.
She returned to her council office job. But
her body began to reject her new organs;
she had another transplant in 1989.
There were complications.
31 hours of surgery.
80 pints of blood.
Afterwards
she had no stamina.
Listless, falling
asleep, fainting.
She collapsed regularly.
Blackouts. In
and out of hospital.
2013.
Her assessent was at a test centre
eight miles from her home. Twenty minutes
answering questions. Her husband, who drove her,
was not allowed in to support her.
She was judged fit for work.
She typed her appeal
on an iPad
as she lay in hospital
with a chest infection
crying.
Criteria for ability to work include
‘You can understand simple messages
from a stranger’
and
‘You can use a keyboad or mouse
and a pen or pencil
with at least one hand.’
The Department wrote to her
two months later.
Six days later
her husband was called to the hospital.
Two days after that
they put her on palliative care.
The letter said:
‘We have decided you are not entitled to support.
You have been found to be capable of work.’
Her husband sat with her all night.
The next morning
her breathing changed.
It took half an hour
for her to die
drowned in her own body fluids.

[Daily Mirror, 26/05/2013, Linda Wootton: Double heart and lung transplant dies nine days after she has benefits stopped]

50 you probably won’t have heard

Posted on
You probably won’t have heard much about the case.
A 33-year-old woman in the West Country
living with her parents.
She very poorly:
bipolar disorder;
she has been sectioned on numerous occasions
after harming herself.
In February she received a letter
from the outsourcing company
which told her she was about to lose her support
and would have to undergo an assessment.
She was found by her mother
and taken to hospital.
She’d slashed her throat in the bath.
Her psychiatric nurse
and a forensic psychologist contacted
the company, and told them
not to contact her directly again.
The company agreed.
The morning after she was released from hospital
she returned home
to find another letter.
She was readmitted to hospital
having slashed her throat again.
Her mother contacted a local benefit advice charity.
They managed to restore her benefits
without the need for further tribunals.
Last week,
another letter.
The charity again took up her case.
The company told them the letter
was computer-generated
and could not be stopped.

[New Statesman, 05/03/2013, The tragedy of Alice]

51 they took

Posted on
One night
she heard him sobbing
downstairs.
He worked long hours on the farm.
He would leave at five AM.
Some days she would not see him again
until eleven. He wasn’t scared
of work.
Over the years he developed heart trouble,
diabetes, terrible ulcers.
His health deteriorated from there.
He became depressed.
She was borrowing money off everybody.
Last winter
they couldn’t put on the heating.
They sat
with blankets round them.
He was called to his Jobcentre
in late 2012.
They took his blood pressure.
They never checked his back or
asked about his diabetes
and the terrible ulcers he had on his legs.
A computer told them
he’d been on the sick
for twenty-four years –
that’s the only thing
they really knew.
It was decided
that he was capable of limited employment.
His benefit was cut.
He appealed;
a ruling would take almost a year.
He didn’t have a year.
It started in his neck,
spread rapidly.
A very rare form of cancer.
He kept saying
“I wish I could win this case
before I die.”
One night she heard him sobbing downstairs.
He told her
“I can’t go on.”
The cancer took his sight,
his hearing,
finally
his life.
They
took his dignity.

[Daily Mirror, 19/10/2013, Cancer killed my husband, but Atos took his dignity a long time before his death]

55 not compatible

Posted on
After a half-hour interview at his home
he was assessed as capable to return to work.
 
He was very distressed.
(Rising rent arrears,
warnings from the electricity company.)
He was reluctant to ask relatives for help;
they were unaware his benefits had been removed.
Concerned about his patient’s condition,
his doctor wrote a letter
in support of his application:
‘extremely unwell
and absolutely unfit
for any work
whatsoever.
Please do not stop
or reduce his benefits.
He simply is not well enough to cope
with this extra stress.
His mental and medical condition
is extremely serious.’
It is not clear whether the letter
reached the Jobcentre.
He was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome
and obsessive compulsive disorder
in his late 20s.
He had an eating disorder
and cognitive behavioural problems.
He was sacked from his first job
because he was unable to follow instructions.
The Department’s assessment concluded
his mental state
was normal.
This triggered a decision
by the jobcentre
to stop his sickness benefits.
His housing benefits were stopped around the same time.
He was not told.
He struggled to survive
on his disability allowance.
Forty pounds a week
to live on.
His sister said
‘He would have wanted to be seen as normal.
He was desperate to get by
as normal.’
A body mass index
of between eighteen point five
and twenty-four point nine
is considered healthy
for a man.
Between April and August his
dropped
from fourteen point one
to eleven point five;
he weighed five stone eight pounds
(thirty-five kilos)
when he died.
The doctor told the inquest
his body mass index
was not compatible
with life.

The Guardian, 28/02/2014, Vulnerable man starved to death after benefits were cut]

56 until the money ran out

Posted on
His family only pieced together his predicament
after discovering a repossession order
in the bin.
He had lived in the house all his life.
The order,
dated 13 September 2013,
gave him ten days to leave.
He suffered from mental health problems
including agoraphobia.
He had worked
as an assistant sales manager
in the 80s but
after leaving
he failed to find further employment.
Depression
and a suicide attempt
followed;
1989, an overdose
which damaged his vision.
(He was registered as partially blind
in 1994.)
After this he never worked again.
‘He was never extravagant,
didn’t go on holiday,
never had a car,’
his sister said.
His benefits were stopped in December 2012
after an assessment
found him fit for work.
‘He couldn’t ask for help.
He didn’t want to be a burden on anyone.’
Relatives believe he lived off his savings
until the money ran out.
It was his sister who found his body,
two days before the eviction date,
hanging in his hallway.

[Stourbridge News, 26/12/2013, Disabled Kinver man killed himself after being left “almost destitute” when his state benefits were axed]

58 we have to think this way

Posted on
In the undercover film
the trainer tells trainee assessors:
“If it’s more than
twelve or thirteen percent eligible
you will be fed back
‘your rate is too high.’
That’s what we’re being told.”
During assesments
company health professionals
award claimants points,
reflecting the apparent severity
of their condition,
with information gathered
through a set of questions
led by a computer.
“We talk about mobilising,
which means
being able to transfer
from point A
to point B
either by
walking or
walking with aids
which is
crutches
walking sticks
Zimmer frame
or wheelchair. So
if someone has
no legs
but they have
good hands
they can sit
and propel a wheelchair,
they don’t score anything.
This is one of the toughest changes.
Recently I had somebody
with prostate cancer, but
of course that’s not traditionally
treated with chemotherapy. So
I gave him no points.
I couldn’t
do anything else.
Same
with breast cancer.
The hormonal treatment doesn’t count. So
no points.
I felt very uncomfortable doing it.
I didn’t
like doing it.
But I had no way of scoring him.”
The data is typed into a computer.
Patients who score 15 points
are likely to be found eligible for support.
Patients who score below
are not.
“It’s terrible sometimes.
People having problems.
Both hips, both knees, but
good hands.
Terrible.
You know
we talk about
modern work adaptations
but we know how it looks
from the other side.
There’s no jobs
for healthy people,
normal people.
We have to think this way.
Sometimes you feel awful.
You can’t do anything
for people.
You can’t feel sorry
and give them the money
just because you feel
sorry.
You’ll go on a targeted audit.”

The Guardian, 27/07/2012, Atos assessors told to disability benefit approvals low, film suggests

59 the car he was passenger in

Posted on
The car he was passenger in
came off the road
at ninety miles per hour
and collided
with concrete and steel.
1996.
A former bodybuilder,
he was left barely able to walk.
Legs:
constant feeling
like someone digging
a knife
right into the joints.
He spends days in bed.
Struggles to complete
even simple movements.
An assessment by the company
of behalf of the Department,
conducted over one hour
in January 2012 –
“talk
listen
touch your head” –
found him
fit for work.
He said
“It’s enough to make you wonder
would it not be easier
if I killed myself?”
A spokesperson
for the Department
said
“We have made
considerable improvements
to the assessment
to make it fairer and more
effective.”

[The Northern Echo, 15/04/2013, Former bodybuilder from Willington who can barely walk contemplated suicide after nurse ruled him fit to work]