Atos Medicals - Questions, Answers and Support

[Frumious B.]

For those who have difficulty filling in claim forms there are people who will do it for you, e.g. Broadway http://www.broadwaylondon.org/WhatWeDo/AdviceServices/WelfareRights.html They are for 'vulnerably housed' people, which seems to include anyone on benefits struggling with rent. They have one welfare rights worker for Lambeth called Dan Norris - nice bloke, very experienced. He makes home visits and fills in people's forms for them dan dot norris ...at....broadwaylondon.org.

 

[equationgirl]

For those who have difficulty filling in claim forms there are people who will do it for you, e.g. Broadway http://www.broadwaylondon.org/WhatWeDo/AdviceServices/WelfareRights.html They are for 'vulnerably housed' people, which seems to include anyone on benefits struggling with rent.

I think you should edit his email address with an 'at' instead of '@' else the poor man will get spammed into oblivion.

 

[culder]

By posting you are supporting and therefore helping people on this thread which, as Violent Panda pointed out to me, is more than 99% of the population are doing.

It is not in your head - you would not have won your appeal otherwise.

You do what you can, when you can, however you can.

Thanks, EG

I didn't mean "it's all in my head", I meant the whole hassle and stress of it is still really fresh in my memory. I still feel angry about it all.

 

[Frumious B.]

I think you should edit his email address with an 'at' instead of '@' else the poor man will get spammed into oblivion.

Good point!

 

[equationgirl]

Thanks, EG

I didn't mean "it's all in my head", I meant the whole hassle and stress of it is still really fresh in my memory. I still feel angry about it all.

{{{{culder}}}}

I think the whole process is very traumatic for a lot of people going through it.

 

[Frumious B.]

I got so upset I was going to send a pint of my blood to Chris Grayling every day. I didn't get far, it hurt too much. The ministers just don't seem to get that if you put ill people under stress they get more ill, which means being off work for longer and making more demands from the NHS. If anyone were to research the stress bill I'm sure it would exceed the fraud bill.

 

[Libertad]

aren't you susceptible to infection during treatment? Would that be a reason you couldn't attend a medical? would a home medical be any easier?

Yep, I will be. Tbh I don't even like going to the doctor's surgery, have you seen that place? Full of ill people.

 

[Libertad]

Yay, passed the medical and into the Support Group! Amazed.

Yay for you Bandersnatch! Great news, enjoy the weekend.

 

[Greebo]

Yay, passed the medical and into the Support Group!<snip>

I hope you've got some sort of celebration (no matter how low budget and sedate) planned.

 

[Frumious B.]

It was a brace of Tesco Finest chocolate muffins and a pot of extra thick cream! I'm so used to scrimping on everything it was the biggest extravagance I could think of!

 

[Greebo]

It was a brace of Tesco Finest chocolate muffins and a pot of extra thick cream! I'm so used to scrimping on everything it was the biggest extravagance I could think of!

I know what you mean. For the first month after the arrival of the DLA backpayment, VP and I actually struggled to think of anything at all to spend it on.

 

[Frumious B.]

So long as I can keep up with the rent I want to splurge on private treatment for the ME. Neither of the therapies offered by the ME clinic at King's are any use to me as I'm not well enough for them. They don't try to address the cause anyway. There are some private GPs who believe that in many cases ME is caused by mitochondrial failure. It's treated with harmless supplements, so I'd like to try it for a year. The cost of the tests and a year's worth of supplements is at least £500. If I get DLA it might be affordable.

 

[Celt]

.

 

[Greebo]

So long as I can keep up with the rent I want to splurge on private treatment for the ME. <snip>There are some private GPs who believe that in many cases ME is caused by mitochondrial failure. It's treated with harmless supplements, so I'd like to try it for a year. The cost of the tests and a year's worth of supplements is at least £500. If I get DLA it might be affordable.

If you want to try it, I hope that it will work longterm for you.

 

[treelover]

http://www.bhfederation.org.uk/fede...-dpos-silent-over-secret-links-with-atos.html

http://www.bhfederation.org.uk/fede...t-‘if-assessments-are-not-fair-and-open’.html

Just can't believe this: two Disabled People's organisations (DPO's) Assist Uk, and Croydon Disability Forum apparently aided ATOS to get the PIP contracts and are to help administer the new PIP assessments, just what is next? , these were/are afaik grassroots organisations, shameful..

 

[treelover]

'The assessments themselves will be carried out by NHS trusts and private healthcare providers, rather than Atos assessors, although those carrying out the assessments will be trained by Atos.'

oh, and look at this, conflicts of interest?

 

[treelover]

'Norton said Assist UK had decided to work with Capita despite the risk of involvement with an assessment that will help the government cut spending.
He said: “It is going to happen no matter what we do, so we might as well be part of it and keep control of some of the process and have a voice.
“We will be monitoring and watching what’s happening all the way along and if there is bad process and it goes pear-shaped we will pull out straight away.”

No they won't, Capita has said they hope that upto 40% of its operatives for the programme will be disabled themselves inc a large chunk of Norton's social enterprise, my god, how cunning are these private companies, sick in the head really...

btw, manning these centres with disabled people, investigating and involved in basically cutting benefit of other disabled people maybe some even forced there on workfare has massive implications.

 

[Celt]

this process has got my disability rights dander up.

I took my ma to local pub, where there was a table accross the access
to the disabled loo, in the nicest of ways I told them it wasn't on.

 

[equationgirl]

this process has got my disability rights dander up.

I took my ma to local pub, where there was a table accross the access
to the disabled loo, in the nicest of ways I told them it wasn't on.

Aye mine too. The lift was out of order today at work, despite being working first thing, yet no email was circulated and I know at least one person in the building couldn't use the stairs easily. Just as well there's no wheelchair users in the building currently

 

[Celt]

Well its a funny thing we had been going to book christmas lunch , amd I am really disinclined now.

Travelling by public transport the other week, I was quite impressed with its accessability, and thinking about stops me thinking pain, I am wondering if there is an "online review this accesible place"

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

aren't you susceptible to infection during treatment? Would that be a reason you couldn't attend a medical? would a home medical be any easier?

If his white cell count is down, but I'm not sure they're going to consider that a good enough reason, although if he's severely anaemic, he won't have the energy to go anyway

 

[Frankie Jack]

http://www.bhfederation.org.uk/fede...-dpos-silent-over-secret-links-with-atos.html

http://www.bhfederation.org.uk/federation-news/item/1761-dpos-will-pull-out-of-pip-contract-‘if-assessments-are-not-fair-and-open’.html

Just can't believe this: two Disabled People's organisations (DPO's) Assist Uk, and Croydon Disability Forum apparently aided ATOS to get the PIP contracts and are to help administer the new PIP assessments, just what is next? , these were/are afaik grassroots organisations, shameful..

I fucking knew it..!! As soon as the Sue/Kaliya/Mind blog hit the internet I knew the self appointed greedy bastard charities were colluding in secret to kick out legs out from under us. *those of us who have fucking legs to stand on*

All this pish about making sure the PiP tests are done fair is bollocks and a smoke screen for caving in and possibly even making ££s out of doing these fucking tests in charity centres and offices.

Sue Marsh bouncing all over Twatter "I know something but I can't tell you.. YET" Oh right Sue. You've been picked to let the plebs know that charities are falling in line and actually helping ATOS/Capita/Government with the PIP tests.

Thanks very fucking much for that..!!

'The assessments themselves will be carried out by NHS trusts and private healthcare providers, rather than Atos assessors, although those carrying out the assessments will be trained by Atos.'

oh, and look at this, conflicts of interest?

Oh I'm really fucking angry.. The self appointed mouth for the disabled will hear just how angry I am today.

Since that fucking blog posts came out I'm seeing resignation everywhere that the charities will step in to make the PIP/WCA assessments fair and better. Will they fuck. They should be fighting them..!!

 

[treelover]

Take it easy Frankie, you can't be sure of that yet, lets see what Sue posts on the issue, she is clearly aware of it..

just as angry as you about the co-option of the charities, they are becoming part of the problem not the solution..

these issues around who charities are now for, their(top) employees/own survival or the clients would make a good CIF article.

 

[treelover]

The people who willl be employed to work in various roles will be disabled people who on the whole can work, they will have imo, a jaundiced view of many going through the process, its the same with Smith cunning farming out of Universal credit to Indian Call Centres, to them its scroungers 'getting free money' they will have little sympathy and even less empathy*, this is a hand grenade launched at the heart of the disability movement.

*ignoring Godwins law, this is the sort of nasty very cynical but beautifully constructed policy(principle not of course exact) the Nazis did in the early years of their reign

btw, i will accept that Sue hasn't mentioned this yet, i do wonder why?

 

[Frankie Jack]

I've run the gauntlet of sycophantic followers who canot see a wrong word written about Sue a few times when I've disagreed with her writings treefrog.

Already I've been railed at for 'shooting the messengers' when surely the messengers being such high profile 'reluctant' activists should have had an idea of the implications of what MIND was trying to do. Why DID MIND let the story break through Sue and Kaliya if not to put friendly faces to the fact that DPOs were working with Atos/Capita/Government on PIP/WCA tests.

What would have been the reaction if MIND and DPOs had just publicised their involvement?

 

[equationgirl]

I've run the gauntlet of sycophantic followers who canot see a wrong word written about Sue a few times when I've disagreed with her writings treefrog.

Already I've been railed at for 'shooting the messengers' when surely the messengers being such high profile 'reluctant' activists should have had an idea of the implications of what MIND was trying to do. Why DID MIND let the story break through Sue and Kaliya if not to put friendly faces to the fact that DPOs were working with Atos/Capita/Government on PIP/WCA tests.

What would have been the reaction if MIND and DPOs had just publicised their involvement?

treelover, treefrog is a different poster Frankie

 

[ViolentPanda]

Well its a funny thing we had been going to book christmas lunch , amd I am really disinclined now.

Travelling by public transport the other week, I was quite impressed with its accessability, and thinking about stops me thinking pain, I am wondering if there is an "online review this accesible place"

Public transport accessibility is still patchy, though, not just in London but everywhere in the UK. Sure, the buses kneel, but over 80% of tube stations in London are inaccessible using standard accessibility criteria, as are over 75% of train stations in the UK. Yay for what is accessible, but as Shania would say, "that don't impress me much". I'm still firmly of the opinion that if we win the lottery, moving to Berlin (over 90% accessibility on all forms of public transport) would enable me to get out and about a fuckload more than living in London does.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Take it easy Frankie, you can't be sure of that yet, lets see what Sue posts on the issue, she is clearly aware of it..

just as angry as you about the co-option of the charities, they are becoming part of the problem not the solution..

these issues around who charities are now for, their(top) employees/own survival or the clients would make a good CIF article.

Oh come on, for fuck's sake! The co-option of the charities/bending of the charities to government whim became inevitable the moment they bought into Blair's "third sector" bullshit in the early '90s and started tendering for service provision contracts. The conflict of interest between representing people with health issues and providing contracted (rather than internally-provided) services was always going to end up working in favour of government rather than service-user wishes.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Public transport accessibility is still patchy, though, not just in London but everywhere in the UK. Sure, the buses kneel, but over 80% of tube stations in London are inaccessible using standard accessibility criteria, as are over 75% of train stations in the UK. Yay for what is accessible, but as Shania would say, "that don't impress me much". I'm still firmly of the opinion that if we win the lottery, moving to Berlin (over 90% accessibility on all forms of public transport) would enable me to get out and about a fuckload more than living in London does.

I went to the O2 arena yesterday and there was a tent with dozens of wheelchairs to borrow (but only if you'd bought a ticket for an event), so to just borrow one of the dozens of wheelchairs to go around the bars etc. is a no-no, as it's LOCOG supplying them for a sports event, not for the general public to walk around the 02

 

[equationgirl]

Public transport accessibility is still patchy, though, not just in London but everywhere in the UK. Sure, the buses kneel, but over 80% of tube stations in London are inaccessible using standard accessibility criteria, as are over 75% of train stations in the UK. Yay for what is accessible, but as Shania would say, "that don't impress me much". I'm still firmly of the opinion that if we win the lottery, moving to Berlin (over 90% accessibility on all forms of public transport) would enable me to get out and about a fuckload more than living in London does.

NONE of the underground is accessible using the same criteria in Glasgow. No lifts to platforms for one thing - some stations have escalators part of the way but all have at least one flight of stairs down to the platforms. There was a complete overhaul of the system in the late 1970s but no lifts put in, mainly I think due to space constraints in the stations. There's a refurbishment of the network at the moment but that just appears to be making the platforms look pretty.

The local train stations are better but most aren't compliant - and as the trains often stop several inches above the platforms depending on the trains making the stations compliant wouldn't necessarily address the problem.

Buses are better except for the circle routes which still use non-kneeling buses, the only problem being wheelchair spaces being taken up by pram/pushchairs, but I've seen drivers politely ask pushchair owners to move out of the way and ensure the wheelchair user has enough space and is secure and comfortable before moving off. I've also seen ones that haven't, sadly