Is this man with diabetes fit for work?

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catherinecherub

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Have just finished reading about a man with diabetes being classed by ATOS as fit for work. It is not the fact that he has diabetes but also suffers from many complications and has mental health problems.

His family says the decision to pass him fit for work almost killed him - a diabetic who could no longer afford to eat.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ho ... ck-2162711
 

noblehead

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Beyond belief that they passed him fit for works with so many complications and poor mental health, understandably they need to assess if people are fit to work or not when claiming benefits but the gp/nurse......or however assessed this gentleman needs to be assessed themselves to see if they are up to the job :roll:
 

Daff

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That day, all those years ago, when common sense died in this poor, wretched country, was a sad day for us all... I really miss him.
:?
 

Sid Bonkers

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Absolutely disgusting just like so many other ATOS reassessments for work, totally illogical.

They are being paid a fortune by our government and saving very little in benefits. I seriously doubt that they are even breaking even in covering the cost of their services in recovered benefits.

And those in real need of help are being made to feel like fraudulent criminals and suffering untold stress in the process.
 

paul-1976

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ATOS are lower than a snakes belly,in fact it seems that just having a pulse is enough for the sick people being deemed fit for work! :thumbdown: hope to see the back of this rotten government!
 

Paul_c

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ATOS's terms of reference are to find any possible reason, no matter how slim, to classify you as 'Fit to Work'

Failure to turn up for your meeting with them will result in you being found 'Fit for Work', which results in such horror stories of their meeting rooms being located in places with out access for the disabled.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20423701

The firm carrying out fitness-for-work assessments for the government lacks disabled access at a quarter of its premises, MPs have heard.

Employment minister Mark Hoban said 31 of 123 centres used by Atos lacked ground-floor access for wheelchairs.

Six centres in particular had "terrible" problems, causing almost three-quarters of case backlogs by failing to inform applicants.
 

SpaceChick

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I still find it shocking that these ATOS assessors are not medically trained. How can an admin staff member accurately assess a persons ability to work or if their illness is too severe.

A friend of mine has cancer, he's needing an amputation and he was pronounced fit for work a few weeks back despite the fact he was in hospital at the time.

Madness!
 

izzzi

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What puzzles me is why this french business ATOS, holds £3bn worth of UK government contracts.
I could be a few £ out.
ATOS is IT linked to big brother, in other words "computer says your fit"

To think we the tax payer are paying good money for all this nonsense.

Roy. :)
 

donnellysdogs

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The whole methodology that ATOS n government use is disdusting.

I know of at least 3 persons who have been signed unfit for work 25 years ago under the old system. They have never been summoned to ATOS, and one of them still has some sort of payment toward her mortgage being made... All of them are walking better than me and in better physical n mental health than me. Under ATOS I get nothing. All these people have had claims going for years and so far nothing has evee been done to re-assess them....

I also has a friend with multiple sclerosis and permanently in a wheel chair wirh carers being told recently that he is fit for work under ATOS new claimant...

I am appalled when I see people getting full DLA ( old equivalent etc) and have done for years, and getting away with it, when really needy newer claimants have to come under this ATOS scheme.

It is a world gone mad....
 

ronialive

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I can only speak from personal experience - I had an injury and hurt my shoulder which needed surgery. I would pass out with pain regularly - I was a nurse so could not work. I was asked for an assessment of benefit just a few days after my shoulder surgery and had a letter from my surgeon saying I could not work for 12 weeks following the surgery and yet they said I was fit for work and could stack shelves at Tesco if I could not work as a nurse.

they rely on people being scared and depressed and for them not to complain. I wish I had now but instead sold everything I had to try not to lose my house and to feed my children. I can well believe that this happened. it is a disgrace.

Obviously my surgeon did not know what he was talking about when he said my should needed rest and to heal
 

EllisB

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ronialive said:
could stack shelves at Tesco if I could not work as a nurse.

While shelf stacking at Tesco is probably sufficiently demanding as to be at odds with your surgeon's advice, there are a great many people who have been on long term incapacity benefit because they were unable to do the job they have been doing.

Your case is transient (hopefully). After recuperation and physio, you should be able to return to nursing. If not, there are other jobs you could do. You should never have needed to go onto long term benefits, the NHS should be treating patients like you in a timely manner (is it NHS sick pay rules that have forced you onto the benefit?).

Many of us do jobs we don't want to do, or that we think of as beneath us, but that is life, I'd jack my job in tomorrow if I did not need the pay check. We need a system that acts as a safety net for those who are unable to do any job and for short-term incapacity and unemployment, but does not allow people to remain on benefits indefinitely when they are capable of working, just not in the job they trained for.

Last summer we saw what people with disabilities, some quite severe, can do if they set their mind to it and many people with disabilities go out to earn a living every day. Is it fair to ask them to pay their taxes so others can sit at home rather than finding a job they can do?
 

mickey121

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ATOS don't give a stuff they have made a decision before you even arrive for your assessment as they have Quotas to fill


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

debs6566

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Atos just ask questions that have to be answered by yes or no - there is nowhere to put can do if conscious or can do sometimes and not others - the people that have the strength (and sometimes the humiliation ) to go through appeal mostly have the ruling overturned which is a terrible waste of money . I'm sure anyone with a real disability/illness doesn't mind being reassessed . my partners experience who was assessed by a Doctor employed by Atos was told prior to the assessment that he wouldn't pass even though the doctor thought he should :twisted:
 

donnellysdogs

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But why arent the long term incapacity benefit people recalled? Many, many of them could be reclassified under the ATOS scheme of things. Certainly the people I know are far fitter and more able than me...I dont get one single payment for anything, nothing despite having paid all my taxes for 35 years and worked since 16. Now when I'm in agony from diabetic amyotrophy constantly, have slow colonic transit that either bungs up or speeds up my bowels according to pain medications I'm on, fibromalgia, penicious anaemia.. And type 1 and pump...I have to work... I'm not even entitled to have my NI contributions paid, despite being all up to date and fully paid up with tax and NI etc.

People I know on long term Incapacity intentionally get their gp to send them to a Counsellor so they can got full DLA for mental health probs, which then gives them automatic full entitlement to the full whack of DLA. There is shocking fraud going on by some and genuine people in need are left vulnerable and helpless unless they go down the appeal route with more stress from ATOS and courts.
 

Sunhat

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My brother was passed fit to work, he was diabetic, totally blind (due to diabetes and glaucoma) had dialysis three times a week, he could not walk far due to muscle loss. He appealed, was accused of lying about his conditions! The transcript of the appeal was sent elsewhere, a sensible person read it, all his benefits were reinstated to the highest level.
He died 3 years later with gangrene. The persons not fit to work were the original man, who could hardly speak English and the appeals committee!
And my brother!!!
 

EllisB

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You might like to read this: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 27115.html

I thought I had heard this lately. There will eventually be several 'suppliers' competing with each other. If the cost of so many successful appeals is taken into account, a provider who invests in well-trained staff who get it right first time will have a competitive advantage.
 

Tracey167

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Hi

This ATOS are terrible they don't even do a medical check on the person they just sit in front of there computer. I heard ages ago they classed a man with parkinsons disease (could'nt hardly walk) Fit For Work. For that job they should have Doctors or fully trained nurses accessing people because the stories i have heard the staff are far from medically trained.

tracey167
 

donnellysdogs

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I had fully qualified doctors assess me in Swansea
 

MonoJono

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I was told by the ATOS interviewer that even if i was in a wheelchair and visually impaired, they would still find me fit for work.
Surely by definition, this would class a person as disabled?
Luckily i wasnt unfairly forced into poverty or work.
The diabetes charities should club together to stop this or help poorly treated individuals at least? Appealing a decision can take months. A diabetic with implications could be dead within a week of running out of money.
 

donnellysdogs

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If you still have a brain... You're fit to work. You could be totally amputated and still fit to work....so long as you could answer a phone.. Which would be handsfree, and use a stick in your mouth to tap a screen or keyboard, you would still be fit... Ok.. Not quite that bad, but ATOS and rich government persons are totally out of order.i know that Camerons disabled child unfortunaty died, but I do sometimes wonder how Cameron would have got on completing the forms if their child had lived...
Many people nowadays have 0 hour contracts that exempt them from getting some benefits and certainly from getting a mortgage. Lots of Companies nowadays have restricted Company pay schemes and SSP IS £285 a month if you can get it after waiting 3 days without pay.
I know this is away from the ATOS issue, but it is also very hard nowadays for some people in employment too... Especially if you have diabetes from a child, as medical insurance in uk will exempt you from the majority of their cover and load the insurance rate if they deem.....
Gosh, what a rant...
There is a special website if googled that has good advice on ATOS and their methods....