Tag: The Department

02 across a table

Posted on
He had been detained on a locked ward;
schizophrenia; complex drug problems.
The day of the assessment
he was heavily medicated,
was experiencing
auditory and visual hallucinations.
He thought he had special powers,
believed he was the Son of God.
His benefits were stopped immediately.
He had been deemed fit for work
on the basis of physical tests: the ability
to pick a pen up off the ground
or move a pint of milk
across a table.

[The Scotsman, 21/01/2012, Just not working: Why government fit-to-work tests are failing]

03 complicated jargon, red

Posted on
She was diagnosed
with ovarian cancer:
major surgery
chemo
sickness
hair loss
complicated jargon, red
tape.
As well as working
her husband cared for her.
‘Having chemotherapy makes you see
everything through a mist.’
One day
she came downstairs
to discover her husband
lying on the living room floor
dead.
Afterward
the Department told her
she could no longer claim employment support
because her bereavement benefit
was five pounds more a week
and she was not allowed
to claim for both.

[Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 26/01/2011, I didn’t ask to be ill, I just asked for support]

04 I don’t want people mourning me before I die

Posted on
She works 20 hours a week as an employment advisor
take-home pay less than 10,000 a year.
But with 400 a month in welfare payments
she is able to live alone
work
and pay for a specially modified car.
She pays for carers to come in twice a day to prepare meals,
twice-weekly visits to the physiotherapist.
The money from the Department
allows her the freedom to exist
independently.
The inexorable spread of her disease
(progressive multiple sclerosis
she was diagnosed as a teenager)
meant she would end up a ‘cabbage with a heartbeat.’
She decided long ago to take her own life at some stage:
‘I don’t want people mourning me before I die.’
In a consultation paper last December
the Department said it was paying ‘a lot more
than expected’
to disabled people.
It aims to reduce costs by a fifth.
A consultation ends this week.

[The Guardian, 14/02/2011, ‘Life not worth living’ for disabled people facing benefit cuts]

05 he didn’t know how he was going to live

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No witnesses gave evidence
at the inquest,
only the coroner read out
written statements
from the man’s doctor, the first paramedic
to attend him after he collapsed,
a police sergeant who investigated
his death, the pathologist
who carried out
his post-mortem.
The day he died
he was awaiting the results of an appeal
against being found fit for work.
He visited the jobcentre,
and was asked to climb some stairs.
Heart disease, sarcoidosis,
diabetes, cirrhosis,
depression, anxiety,
agoraphobia and high blood pressure;
he had been referred to a respiratory clinic; had been diagnosed
with Asperger’s syndrome.
He had previously lost his job because of depression;
he was falling asleep at work; serious breathing difficulties.
Despite a ‘fit note’ from his doctor
he had started a new job within a few days;
he wanted to work.
But his employer realised how unwell he was, and was worried.
He lost the job.
He told the jobcentre staff
he would have a heart attack
if he climbed the stairs.
Told he could use the lift,
he asked if someone could accompany him
because of his claustrophobia.
He was told this was not possible.
It was agreed that someone would come down
to speak to him.
After leaving the Jobcentre
he went to see a friend,
who calmed him down.
He was worried about work, about
money.
They weren’t going to give him disability benefits.
He didn’t know how he was going to live.
Hours later
he collapsed in the street
and died.

[Disability News Service, 11/08/2022, Shock after inquest ignores ‘fitness for work’ and jobcentre concerns]

06 see a doctor

Posted on
He was sent to his first assessment
when he gave up his job as a delivery man
after being referred
for tests on his heart.
His wife was with him:
‘She checked him out.
She did his blood pressure
and his heart,
said
“See a doctor
as soon as possible.”’
He was diagnosed with heart failure
but was still found fit for work.
He won his appeal
but was ordered to attend
another assessment
while he was waiting for a heart operation.
Again
found fit for work.
‘Significant disability
due to cardiovascular problems seems
unlikely.’
Five weeks later
he died of a heart attack.

[The Telegraph, 30/07/2012, Disability tests ‘sending sick and disabled back to work’]

07 the decision-maker

Posted on
The coroner concluded
at the end of the inquest:
‘The anxiety and depression
were long term problems
but the intense anxiety
was caused by his recent assessment
by the Department
as being fit for work
and his view
of the likely consequences.’
A former orthopaedic surgeon
employed by the contractor
had carried out the assessment,
concluding that he
was ‘at no significant risk
by working.’
The decision-maker
did not request
any reports or letters
from his doctor
his psychiatrist
or his clinical psychiatrist
had failed to ask him
if he had suicidal thoughts.
Six months later
he took his own life.

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

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]

09 knocked down

Posted on
Knocked down
by a car, his right leg
was shattered.
17 days in hospital,
numerous operations.
He could put no weight at all on that leg
after the accident,
instead relied
on crutches.
When he applied for support
on the basis that he was unable
or virtually unable
to walk,
the Department
knocked him
back.
It said
he could walk
because he could go up to 200 yards
on crutches
before exhaustion set in.

[Huddersfield Examiner, 16/03/2020, Top judges to define what ‘walking’ means]

10 uncontrolled, uncontrollable or life threatening

Posted on
He quit his job in 2007
after becoming severely ill:
depression
anxiety.
He rarely left his home, refused
to talk to friends and relatives
or answer the door or phone
often spent days
in the same room.
He lived off his savings for two years
until his money ran out.
In early 2009
he finally began talking again
to his father and step-mother.
They persuaded him to apply for support.
He was assessed by a doctor employed
by a government contractor.
The doctor concluded
there was ‘no evidence
to suggest that the client’s health condition
due to their depression
is uncontrolled,
uncontrollable or life
threatening.’
He asked the Department to reconsider
as this disagreed wildly
with the opinion of his doctor
his psychiatric nurse
and his psychiatrist.
He found out
in January 2010
the Department agreed
with its earlier decision.
Although he began
the next stage of the process –
an independent appeal –
a few days later
his body was found.

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

11 she was an artist. she dreamed

Posted on
Because of her paranoia
she had no television, rarely
used her computer, would often
throw away her mobile phone
and change her number;
she thought it was being bugged.
She had accused her mother
and female neighbours
of being witches, once
accused a woman
walking her dog
of sending messages to the police.
She was unable to shop or cook.
Shopping online was difficult – she did not like
to use the computer, was scared
to open the door.
She would turn up outside her mother’s house
7am
screaming
threatening to burn the house down.
At one stage
she tried to climb the telegraph pole
outside the house.
On several occasions she had run away –
to local woodland, where she had lived for several months;
to Siberia in the middle of winter;
to Israel –
to escape those she believed
were conspiring against her.
She was an artist. She dreamed
of buying
a rundown bungalow
in Cornwall.
She had attempted suicide several times when she was younger;
a demon
in her head
was telling her to take her own life.
For the last year of her life
she had been complaining of extreme fatigue.
She had lived with her mother and step-father for many years,
then for two years in sheltered accommodation nearby,
but was moved into a housing association flat.
The flat was very dirty. No working
appliances, full
of rubbish and filth,
huge holes in the floor,
the dual carriageway
in front of the windows.
All her benefits
had been removed by the Department,
which wrote to tell her
her support was ending
because she had failed to return a form on time.
The Housing Association
sent letters
threatening to evict her.
The Council sent a summons
for unpaid tax.
Her electricity had been
cut off.
During the summer, she visited her mother regularly,
and told her she was surviving
on a sandwich and a cup of coffee a day.
In September, she had a psychotic episode
and again cut off
contact with her mother.
In October, her mother messaged her
that her grandmother had died.
There was no reply.
She was being given injections of flupenthixol
a powerful anti-psychotic
every two weeks.
Later in October,
her non-appearance
for the scheduled injection
failed to be noticed –
the Trust had been significantly under-staffed –
until a new co-ordinator
tried unsuccessfully to contact her,
and alerted the police
a week later.
In March, the Department wrote to her mother
to tell her it would be making a back-payment
from April to the day in November
when the police discovered her body.

[Disability News Service, 08/09/2022, DWP hounded disabled woman for years before her ‘starvation’ death, papers show]

12 the next day she took her five-month-old son in her arms

Posted on
Six months after having her income cut off and housing benefit withdrawn
she was sharing her sister’s one-bedroom flat
destitute
with a baby to care for.
32 years old,
a Frenchwoman
living in Britain
since 1997.
In 2008 she graduated
with a degree in philosophy.
She found she was pregnant.
She looked for work.
The Department told her
the fact that she was within 11 weeks of giving birth
disqualified her;
she was not in a fit condition to work.
She was told to apply for income support.
But she had an eight-month period in 2003
when she had been working in a cafe,
and had no records to prove it;
her claim was turned down.
Appealed;
turned down.
She applied for child benefit;
rejected.
Hackney council demanded she repay
200 pounds in housing benefit
she had been given
just as her Jobseeker’s allowance
was being taken away.
She applied to take the Department to tribunal
but repeatedly failed to be given a date
for the hearing.
She was desperate.
Her last attempt to get a date from the tribunal service
took place on 12 June.
The next day she took her five-month-old son in her arms
and jumped from the flat’s sixth-floor balcony.

[The Guardian, 08/01/2010, Comment: Christelle and her baby died at the hands of a callous state]

16 one evening in August

Posted on
He has a mental health problem.
He takes triple medication.
He reports self harm in the past.’
He was assessed in May.
‘He attempted an overdose six weeks ago
but he would not say what he took.’
In June, the Department told him
he was fit to work,
and that his support was being
withdrawn.
‘The evidence overall suggests
that he is not at substantial risk.’
In an appeal letter, he wrote:
‘I disagree with your decision.’
He had worked cleaning buses
for three years
but he could not cope.
‘I have serious mental health problems
that prevent me from doing everyday tasks
which means I cannot work at this moment in time.’
He was placed on strong medication
but his mental health had worsened:
sleeplessness, memory loss, paranoia.
He would claim people were trying to poison him.
He thought the police were following him.
‘I did try and explain this
to the medical examiner.’
He was informed in July of the Department’s final say.
They backed the decision.
One evening in August
he got a bus to the Forth Road Bridge
walked to the middle
and jumped.
He was recovered from the water
but that night in hospital
he died.
His father believes
he may have been a schizophrenic.
Since his death
his mother had been in hospital,
not eating.
The Department sent their sympathies to the family.

[Daily Record, 22/09/2013, Heartbroken dad blames benefits axemen for driving his ill son to commit suicide]

19 explosion in the Sangin region

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She received income support
after suffering an accident at work in 2003.
In 2009 her son was killed in Afghanistan;
explosion in the Sangin region.
She received a death in service payment:
66,000.
She found a letter from the Department
telling her the money
made her ineligible to claim support
after she returned from a remembrance service.

[Ledbury Reporter, 19/11/2010, Soldier’s mother in suspense over benefits claim]

20 and her coat and purse

Posted on
She walked out of the home she shared with her boyfriend
some time after midnight.
She had battled depression for a number of years,
had taken a turn for the worse
after receiving a letter
telling her she had to be assessed
to see if she was fit
to return to work.
Her mobile phone
was found discarded
on a bench in the park.
And her coat and purse
in the river.

[Chronicle Live, 26/02/2013, Body found in River Wear is Leanne Chambers]

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]

25 long hours

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She was brought up as a slave
long hours
scraps of leftover food like a dog
fine scars down one side of her face and right leg.
At the age of 15
she was sold to a trafficker
who brought her to the UK.
In London
she was locked in a house
and repeatedly raped.
She escaped.
She later gave birth to a daughter.
She wanted to study English
get a job
walk away from life
on benefits.
She struggled to buy shoes for her children.
Then the Department informed her
it was axing her support
because she had failed to show them a document
she had never been asked
to produce.
She called the Department helpline.
Waited to speak to someone.
A recorded message informed her
there would be
a charge
for the call.

[The Guardian, 06/01/2016, The DWP – a bureaucracy of outstanding brutality]

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]

29 on the appointed day

Posted on
The first time he discovered he was in trouble was when a letter arrived
from the Department.
It was headed Fraud Investigation Section.
An investigator was going to call at his home
to interview him.
Diabetic neuropathy;
he had been unable to walk without discomfort
for over a decade.
He had been claiming benefit.
His wife had taken a part-time job
despite her own disabilities
to supplement their meagre income.
He had phoned the Department,
was told his wife’s new job
had been noted on his records.
It was more than two years later
that the fateful letter came.
The investigator arrived
on the appointed day.
The interview was carried out under caution.
He was stunned to discover
his wife’s job
was the reason for the visit.
The Department claimed
no knowledge of her job;
when he said he had informed the Department,
he was told point blank
he was lying.
His solicitor advised him:
it would be his word
against the Department’s.
Best thing to do:
plead guilty.
‘What happened to innocent
until proven guilty?’ he asked.
The solicitor
shook his head.
On the day of his court appearance
he was handed down
community punishment:
160 hours.

[Morning Star, 26/07/2011, Who are the real benefit cheats?]

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

Posted on
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]

35 a large amount of medication

Posted on
His housemate found him in bed
a large amount of medication
on his bedside table.
The housemate last saw him
two days before
(he had spent the day in bed himself
due to illness)
but decided to check on him when
he stopped hearing noises
coming from his room.
He did not move the body.
He called the aumbulance service,
who recorded the time of death – 3.33 –
and also called police to the scene.
The post-mortem and toxicology tests
found he had lethal levels
of four different medicines
in his system.
A note was left on his unlocked phone.
It said:
Can you thank the people
who work at the Department?

[Derby Telegraph, 12/04/2019, Tragic tenant left suicide note sarcastically ‘thanking’ Universal Credit bosses]

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]

41 a second, unopened letter

Posted on
She received a letter
from the Department
saying she should go back to work.
She suffered chronic breathlessness,
pulmonary disease,
depression;
she was a recovering methadone addict.
The letter also told her
her incapacity benefit
would be stopped.
She was so distressed
she took a cocktail of drugs.
She recovered
after treatment in hospital.
She regretted trying to take her own life
and vowed to fight the decision.
She died two days later.
A suicide note had been left in a sealed envelope
some medication was around the floor.
A post-mortem examination revealed
she only had a small amount of drugs in her system –
mostly from the suicide attempt
two days previously.
The coroner was satisfied
that she died
of natural causes.
After her body was found
a second, unopened letter
was also discovered
indicating she would not
lose her benefit after all.

[Evening Standard, 14/08/2013, Suicide bid of woman who feared losing her incapacity benefit]

45 everything through a mist

Posted on
She was diagnosed
with ovarian cancer:
major surgery
chemo
sickness
hair loss
complicated jargon, red
tape.
As well as working
her husband cared for her.
‘Having chemotherapy makes you see
everything through a mist.’
One day
she came downstairs
to discover her husband
lying on the living room floor
dead.
Afterward
the Department told her
she could no longer claim employment support
because her bereavement benefit
was five pounds more a week
and she was not allowed
to claim for both.

[Grimsby Evening Telegraph, 26/01/2011, I didn’t ask to be ill, I just asked for support]

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]

54 the old system

Posted on
During the 1960s
while pregnant with her
her mother took thalidomide.
She is blind in one eye,
partially deaf,
can barely walk,
barely dress herself.
She has arthritis.
In 2004 she underwent surgery
to remove a brain tumour.
She retired from her job
as a care assistant.
She was to undergo spinal surgery
late in 2013.
‘It is because of the way I have had
to manipulate my body over the years
to try and live a normal life.
Because we have to use our bodies
in different ways
what anyone else finds normal
has killed us.’
She and her late husband
were believed to be
the first thalidomide victims in Britain
to get married.
(Her carer
helps her make tea
and brushes her hair.)
In July 2012
she received a letter
saying she must go
on a training course.
Her family appealed
and the decision was overturned.
Then
in October
she was told
once again
she should not
be claiming benefits
as she could not prove
she was unfit to work.
A further appeal was rejected.
A spokesman for the Department said
‘The old system
condemned too many people
to a life on benefits
with little hope
of moving back to work.
Now
people who can work
will be given help
to find a job
while those who need unconditional support
will get it.’
She was served with court papers
and must attend a tribunal
where she will have to prove
her disabilities to a judge.

[Daily Star, 16/03/2013, Benefits hell for Thalidomide patient; Daily Mail, 15/03/2013, Blind in one eye, partially deaf and facing major spinal surgery but Thalidomide mother is still found fit to work; The Independent, 15/03/2013, Capable of ‘work-related activity’: Partially blind Thalidomide victim with brain tumour fights Atos decision to force her to attend interviews and put together CV]

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]

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]