Assisted suicides - a word of caution . . .

With the attention given to Terry Pratchett - who I have always admired for his innovative, humorous, and extremely clever writing - with his, rather one-sided, views on assisted suicide, aired in a programme about this subject by the BBC, there is now much debate among the highways and byways of the internet, with people on both sides giving emphasis to their own personal beliefs and standing on the subject.


Assisted suicide is one of those murky areas where, if I put myself in the position of those who have been hurting too long, and who desperately want the respite of oblivion, then I can understand their viewpoint, and wouldn't dream of dictating to them what they should, or shouldn't, do with their lives.


But, on the other hand, being a committed Christian, I believe in the sanctity of life and couldn't, in all honesty, agree to assisted suicide, and especially not in my own case.

There have been times over the last few years when the pain I suffer has been so bad that I've wanted, and even begged for, the oblivion possible through the medication I am prescribed but, not once, have I wished for that oblivion to be a permanent thing. Despite a continuously painful life, it is still far too precious a commodity for me to think, even for a second, of wanting it over and done with!


What seriously worries me about all these moves towards making assisted suicide legal in this country, is that the possibilities of its use could echo something that happened in the past - namely the actions of the Nazi party before the Second World War.


With all the emphasis given to people's 'usefulness' in today's society, and the Government and Media constantly portraying anyone on long-term sickness and disability benefits as 'scroungers', there is beginning to be a shift in society's thinking that is truly worrying to me. 


If anyone is unable to hold down a paying job, whether through long-term illness, or disability, how long will it be before those with the power to decide these things, turn to the same decisions made in Germany towards the sick, disabled, poor, aged, or needy?


I came across a passage, quoted online, in the comments section of Crippen's Blog, that made me think seriously about these matters: 
in the aftermath of the war, Leo Alexander, a psychiatrist who gave evidence at Nuremberg in 1949 said that, ‘its beginnings at first were merely a subtle shift in emphasis in the basic attitude of the physicians. It started with the attitude, basic in the euthanasia movement that there is such a thing as a life not worthy to be lived. This attitude in its early stages concerned itself merely with the severely and chronically sick, identified as 'useless eaters'. Gradually the sphere of those to be included in this category was enlarged to encompass the socially unproductive, the ideologically unwanted, the racially unwanted, and finally all non-Germans. The Nazi holocaust began in 1939 with the killing of 6,000 disabled children and 70,000 patients in geriatric and psychiatric institutions.'


Unfortunately 'Lest we forget' seems to have been forgotten in the greedy rush of 'progress' and the desire to make as much money as possible, no matter who has to be trodden on in the rush - and it's those with the least political clout, such as the ill and disabled, who seem to be the first stepping stones possible in a move I believe to be dangerously close to the ethos that saw so many 'unproductive' people losing their lives.


In the early hours of the morning, when laying in bed,and trying desperately not to cry once again from pain, these thoughts worry me terribly. They make my life a continuous struggle for the positive thinking I need to keep going, no matter what life throws at me. With each report of yet another vulnerable person suffering hatred and abuse from the public, purely because of the illness or disability they suffer with, I feel the fear of the past catching up with us once again, and wonder when our society will wake up to what is happening, and what could so easily happen if assisted suicide is made a legal reality.


The sign of a truly great society, is in the care given to those who, through no fault of their own, have become vulnerable through age, illness, accident or birth, but all I see with our society now, is how money can be saved by closing down hospitals and care homes, in cutting funding for care in the community, and the whole-scale blame for the debt our country faces, caused through the greed of a few bankers, and the political greed of every party who gained control of our country's purse-strings, being put firmly on the shoulders of the politically expedient vulnerable of our communities.


I pray to God each day that the people of this country wake up to what is truly happening each and every day now, and that they have the moral courage to say 'Hold! Enough!' before it is too late . . . .

How 1 point becomes 15 in bogus medicals

How 1 point becomes 15 in bogus medicals
From:	Benefits and Work <campaign@benefitsandwork.co.uk>
Date:	Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:57

Successful IB to ESA transfer without having a medical
Got the dreaded brown envelope this morning, and it was an even worse

 feeling than waiting for exam results! But after a couple of mugs of coffee

 I managed to get up the courage to open it, and I appear to have got into

 the WRAG group WITHOUT having to have a medical!

I was one of the early transfers from IB to ESA (it started in March for me) 

and had already had 3 Atos medicals for IB so I was dreading yet another 

visit to that particular nightmare.

I couldn't have managed to complete my form as well without all the advice 

on this forum and the fantastic guides from benefitsandwork, in fact I couldn't

even manage to look at the form, let alone complete it, until I had the guides 

to "hold my hand" through each question.
Pompeylass

How 1 point becomes 15 in bogus medicals

Dear Subscriber,

When we set out last week to write a relatively brief guide to being moved 

from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance (ESA), we 

knew that we would be highlighting big differences between the two medical 

tests.

We also knew that we would be revealing a big drop in the number of 

opportunities to score points for physical health conditions - though we 

weren't expecting it to be quite so huge.

For incapacity benefit, the personal capability assessment (PCA) had 14 

physical activities with 70 point scoring descriptors and a total of 786 points.  

Under the work capability assessment (WCA) for ESA there are now just 

10 physical activities with 30 descriptors and a total of 330 points. 

That's an almost 60% cut in the number of points available. 

But what we didn't expect to find was that for mental health there are at 

least three descriptors in the PCA that scored just 1 point, but under the 

new WCA  they are potentially worth 15 points, depending on the severity 

of your condition.

We had to ask ourselves how it could be that one day the way your mental 

health affects you could be worth just a single point and yet, the following 

day, the same effect could be regarded as so incapacitating that you should 

score 15 points and be awarded benefits as unable to work.

We also had to wonder how it could be that 60% of the points awarded under 

the physical health test for incapacity benefit turn out to have been over-

generous errors.

The truth, of course, is that both the PCA and the WCA are bogus pseudo-

science created largely by  organisations with vested interests in the outcome.  

They have nothing whatsoever to do with the reality of the effects of long-term 

health conditions or disabilities.

We can't change that truth, but we can at least do our best to ensure that if 

you are an IB claimant you have all the information needed to get every point 

you are entitled to under the WCA.

Our 24 page 'Being Transferred from IB to ESA' guide  includes:

• Answers to the most common questions about being transferred from IB to ESA.
• The text of the letter you will receive when the process begins.
• A first-hand account from a member of the phone call you will receive from a decision maker who, as it turns out, could almost have been reading aloud from one of our guides.
• A comparison, where it's possible, of the physical health tests for IB and for ESA  - highlighting the ways in which the tests have changed.
• Suggestions as to which mental health points for incapacity benefit may be relevant to ESA - the tests are too different for direct comparison.
• A comparison of the exemptions and exceptional circumstances for IB and for ESA

Combined with our step-by-step guides to completing the ESA questionnaire and attending 

a medical, our new guide to the transfer process should ensure that you are as well prepared 

as it's possible to be for the process you will be obliged to undergo.

If you are a subscribing member, you can download our new guide from the ESA section of 

the Benefits and Work members area now.

OTHER NEWS
In our last newsletter we wrote about the possibility of becoming self-employed as a way 

of escaping the treadmill of ESA medicals.

We received lots of comments in response and this highly cautionary tale from one 

member threatened with prosecution and homelessness for being self-employed.

Former athlete Steve Cram has also become homeless, at least on Facebook, 

after agreeing to become the Atos ambassador for the 2012 Olympic and 

Paralympics games.   His Facebook page appears to have been taken down after 

it was filled with howls of anger and outrage from sick and disabled claimants.  

(We were going to give you a link to his page but, obviously, that's not currently possible)

There are further howls of protest, this time at the BBC, following its decision 

to close the BBC Ouch Forum next month.  The forum is described by the BBC 

itself as the �beating heart� of Ouch, the BBC�s disability website.  Users 

are now being advised by the BBC to go to Facebook and Twitter instead, a 

suggestion which is being met with fury because of the lack of anonymity and 

protection from harassment on those platforms.

No outrage, however from Professor Malcolm Harrington.  The government's 

independent reviewer of the WCA describes himself in an interim report  as 

'pleased and gratified' at the progress made by the DWP in making the work 

capability assessment fairer and more responsive.

Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Harrington does not detail any consultation 

with claimants, admits that charities have not reported any improvements and 

entirely ignores the effects of the new, harsher work capability assessment.

Another man with a talent for ignoring large chunks of reality is Chris Grayling, employment 

minister.  Grayling has shamelessly denied that the government bears any responsibility 

for the current media hatred campaign against sick and disabled claimants. 

"Sometimes stories run in a way that completely bemuse me," he told the work and pensions committee, adding, however, that "I don't control... the editorial tone of the newspapers." 

Which doesn't mean, of course, that he doesn't privately delight in it or know very well 

what effect his press releases are likely to have.

Meanwhile, Grayling launched the new work programme last week.  500 charities are now 

fighting over the scraps the huge private sector providers who won all the big contracts 

are being obliged to toss to them.  You can download a full list of the charities involved.

There's more snippets in our Stop Press News section, which we're hoping to expand 

and improve over the next few weeks.  More on that in the next newsletter. Harking back momentarily to the last newsletter, we've been asked by the After Atos website we mentioned there to point out that they have an anonymous  survey which people who have had 

an Atos ESA  medical can complete.  The results are published for use by campaigners.

Finally, as ever, we finish on a cheerier note with some positive feedback from the forum

From 0 to 33 points on ESA appeal

Higher rate mobility and middle rate care backdated for two years

Successful IB to ESA transfer without medical

Won ESA tribunal

Successful ESA appeal

Higher rate mobility for chronic fatigue syndrome

Higher rate care and higher rate mobility on initial claim

DLA tribunal wins ESA appeal

ESA support group with no medical

Higher rate care and higher rate mobility on renewal without medical

6 points to 18 points on ESA appeal

PLEASE PASS ME ON
Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. You are also 

welcome to reproduce this newsletter on your blog, website, forum or newsletter.

You can read this newsletter online. 

Good luck,

Steve Donnison

Benefits and Work Publishing Ltd
Company registration No.  5962666

If you're not already a member, find out how to subscribe to Benefits and Work

and give yourself the best possible chance of getting the right decision.

First, Do No Harm!

Atos Origin Recruitment Event Disrupted by Angry Protests

JUNE 15, 2011

by benefitclaimantsfightback

tags: Atos Origin, Atos Origin recruitment, benefit cuts protests,work capability assessment

Atos Origin are recruiting medical personnel as Disability Assessors with the aim of depriving disabled and sick people of benefit entitlements. Atos assessments have repeatedly ignored evidence from GPs and consultants in favour of a short computer-based test when assessing people's ability to work. Assessors are often required to carry out assessments in fields in which they are not qualified, such as mental health. Many claimants report that the testing procedure, and accompanying stress and worry, has worsened their condition. Tragically, some people with mental health and other conditions have committed suicide as a result of Atos' decisions, and the stress entailed in the process. Questions have been raised about the lack of medical ethics involved in the testing procedure. Over 40% of people who have appealed Atos Origin's decisions have been successful. Please consider the very real damage to people's health and livelihood's being committed by this organisation before considering taking employment with them. Doctors, nurses, and other health professionals should not be used as pawns in a political drive to dismantle the welfare state.


"The job was making me sick," she said. "It's against my principles to treat people with long term illnesses in such a disgusting way, so I had to give it up."


"People go into those interviews and talk openly to you because you are a nurse and they trust you. Then your skills are used against them, to take away their benefits and destroy their lives." - a former employee of Atos Origin.


A recent study for the mental health charity Mind found the three-quarters of people it surveyed said the prospect of a work capability assessment had made their mental health worse and 51% said it had left them with suicidal thoughts.


"This is having a devastating impact on people with mental health issues."


"It is a constant reassessment process which is just absolutely relentless. It is almost like they want to assess you to death or reassess you until you can't face it any longer and drop out of the system altogether. It is like a deliberately grinding down process. It is devastating to see."  - Julie Tipping, appeals officer for the charity Disability Solutions.


(Tipping said that in the last year, two of her clients had made "real attempts" at suicide after a decision that they were fit for work. Both were taken to hospital and subsequently sectioned.)


"We use the term 'patient' to refer to anyone whom doctors test, treat or assess in their professional capacity as a doctor. This includes among others, employees, benefits and insurance claimants, and athletes.


"The first duty of all doctors is to make the care of your patient your first concern." Jane O'Brien, Assistant Director, Standards & Fitness to Practice Directorate GMC.

Atos Origin Recruitment Event Disrupted by Angry Protests

JUNE 15, 2011

tags: Atos Origin, Atos Origin recruitment, benefit cuts protests,work capability assessment

by benefitclaimantsfightback

Around 60 disabled people, supporters and benefit claimants held an angry protest outside the Atos Origin recruitment event in London yesterday.

Atos are currently recruiting healthcare workers as Disability Assessors whose job is to carry out the computer based ‘health’ assessments which have seen thousands of disabled and sick people lose benefit entitlements.  Protesters gathered from 5pm and began handing out leaflets to those attending the event (re=produced below) reminding them of the fundamental medical principle of ‘First Do No Harm’.

A recent survey by Mind revealed how 51% of people with mental health conditions were left with suicidal thoughts at the prospect of a work capability assessment carried out by Atos. Tragically some people have already taken their own lives as a result of Atos’ decisions.

Groups including Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), London Coalition Against Poverty, Mental Health Resistance Network and Winvisible Network were all present at the event.

As the evening wore on a megaphone turned up and angry chants of ‘Atos Kills’ rang out across the corporate facades of Triton Square.  Later the mood turned increasingly spiky and the protest made it’s way directly in front of the doors of Atos Origin’s UK Head Quarters whilst police and private security guards hurried to try and maintain access for the job applicants in attendance.

Eventually the front doors were largely closed down so applicants and Atos staff found themselves herded in and out of the building via the rear fire exit.  Despite the obvious anger on display of those present, the protest remained peaceful and good-natured, whilst displaying a fitting contempt for this company some have dubbed the ‘Euthanasia and Racial Purity Arm of the DWP’.

Only and handful of people appeared to even want a job with Atos and they were given a fitting taste of the growing rage felt by disabled people and claimants at this company.  Atos were invited to address the crowd and justify their activities but as ever remained silent.

One message rang through loud and clear which was that people will continue to protest and take action against Atos until they pull out of the notorious Work Capability Assessment.

Some pics of the protest can be found at:http://www.demotix.com/news/726068/disability-activists-demonstrate-against-atos-origin-london

Please post links to more pics/reports in the comments.

June 15, 2011 8:18 am

These recruitment events are Atos Healthscare’s vulnerable underbelly. They can’t recruit, and even more revealingly, can’t retain enough ‘healthcare professionals’ to terrorise 10,000 disabled people a week so this is where we need to pile on the pressure. Congratulations to our friends in London for another brilliant action against the Evil Empire. There’s more to come in Glasgow and Edinburgh on 30th June!

June 15, 2011 10:30 am

More pictures now at
http://www.demotix.com/news/726326/giz-job-disabled-picket-atos-healthcare

and when I have time I’ll also put a few more on my own web site, My London Diary, where there are pictures from the earlier actions at Triton Sq.

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