Since March 26th, I’ve left the house just twice. Remember: chronic, unpredictable, immune-mediated, neurodegenerative, without a cure, do not catch bacterial or viral infections. That is how much …
Source: Lockdown over? Not for us! | Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me
The whole process is geared to find claimants are not entitled to the benefits, as in many instances the assessors do not listen to the claimants, already have preconceived ideas about a claimants condition, the majority if not all of theses preconceived ideas being wrong and also blatant lying by some assessors.
The whole process is weighted against claimants.
Where incorrect decisions have been made, these should be investigated by an independent body to see if any illegal or dishonest actions have been undertaken by any assessors and where found these assessors should be prosecuted.
Draconian eligibility rules for disability benefits are preventing people suffering with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) from accessing the support they desperately need, a leading charity has warned.
People with MS have been losing support since Disability Living Allowance (DLA) was replaced by the Tory-led coalition Government in 2013 with Personal Independence Payments (PIP), the MS Society claims.
The charity argues one of the main reason for this is the introduction of the 20 metre rule, which is used to assess disabled people’s mobility.
Under DLA the measure was 50 metres, but was reduced by more than half in spite of concerns raised by charities and disability rights campaigners that the move would impact upon large numbers of severely sick and disabled people and limit their independence.
According to a report from the MS Society, the change is causing preventable harm to MS patients who have transferred from DLA to PIP.
The charity has also calculated that the NHS is spending more than an additional £1.8 million a year on GP services and £5.9 million a year on A&E services for people with MS who’ve lost support when moved to PIP.
Source: ‘Senseless’ disability benefit rule costs the NHS at least £7.7 million a year
A new campaign by the charity MS Society is calling on the DWP to scrap a “senseless and unfounded” policy that’s harming claimants and costing the NHS millions.
MS Society represents people who suffer from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS is a “condition which can affect the brain and/or spinal cord”. It causes a wide range of symptoms, including fatigue, trouble walking, numbness, muscle stiffness / spasms, and problems with balance.
The charity’s campaign is focused on scrapping the ’20 metre rule’ which governs access to the mobility component of the PIP disability benefit. A press release for the campaign seen by The Canary states:
People with MS have been increasingly losing vital support since Personal Independence Payment (PIP) began in 2013. The biggest change has been the introduction of the 20 metre rule, used in PIP assessments to determine eligibility for the higher rate of mobility support. Under the previous benefit – Disability Living Allowance (DLA) – the measure was 50 metres. Now, if you can walk just one step over 20 metres, roughly the length of two double-decker buses, you won’t qualify for higher level of mobility support. Under DLA 94% of people with MS were receiving this higher rate but this has fallen to just 66% under PIP.
The charity has also released a campaign video highlighting the callousness of the 20 metre policy:
A report by the Care and Support Alliance has revealed many thousands of vulnerable people stuck in a care system that has left them neglected and living in fear.
Lorraine Hammond, 47, from Lincoln, looked after her mum Margaret who recently passed away.
She said: “The carers hadn’t been feeding her lunch, they had just been leaving cold soup by her bed. Mum had been battling with MS for over 40 years and used to live at home and get care from people coming round twice a day to help her. They just didn’t understand her care needs and the issues that people with MS have.
“One day, dad found out the carers hadn’t been feeding her lunch, they had just been leaving cold soup by her bed but hadn’t been helping her to eat it – they just left. So he had to complain to social services, who stopped the carers from coming over. We found there were no other carers willing to help mum who has complex needs – we had no choice but to put her in a care home.
Source: ‘Mum was just left with cold soup by her bed. It was disgraceful’ : i News
It is said that you can learn from your mistakes, but first the organisation has to appreciate it is making mistakes, then that they wish to learn from them.
Unfortunately in both those instances the current Governments view is no. They do not appreciate that they make mistakes and if they did they will not agree to learn from them.
This is a continuing trend and is anyone at the DWP listening as all they do is quote the statistics re claims submitted, those approved, those declined and those successful at appeal.
Unfortunately you can use statistics to prove virtually anything that you wish to and Government departments at Ace in this, if nothing else.
What they should be looking at is the standard of those claims that are declined to be then approved on appeal, to ensure whatever needs to be learned to achieve an even greater success rate of correctly dealing with claims instead of just juggling figures.
This would not only save money, as every case going to appeal costs more then a correctly assessed original claim. Is it that they are so focused on declining claims that accuracy takes a backseat and in doing so more money is required to the assessing process than should be if the claim had originally been assessed correctly.
This, if looked at logically, is a nonsensical approach and is purely down to shortsightedness and a refusal to learn from mistakes.
Not only is it costing more money within the finality of the process, but even more importantly is the distress and harm it is causing for the respected claimants, who in the longer term are causing more resources to be required within, not only with Social Care, but also the the health services to manage the health conditions that theses assessment processes are causing the respected claimants to suffer from.
For all concerned why can they not ensure that they get it right the first time.
Maybe, as many feel, the DWP just do not care how much suffering they are responsible for.
Disabled people aged 18-64 make up a third of all social care users, yet they are not getting the support they need
For too long, discussions on social care have overlooked those who need care and support earlier in life. Photograph: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
There’s no doubt that one of the biggest challenges facing Britain is how we deal with our ageing population. The countless warnings about the crisis in social care leave no room for doubt. Over the last seven years, budgets have decreased by more than £6bn (pdf) in real terms, and more than 1.2 million older people are struggling to get by without proper care.
The government’s promise to consult on social care in England provides an opportunity to bring about change. But for too long, this debate has almost exclusively focused on older people, overlooking those who need care and support much earlier in life.
More than 280,000 working age disabled adults rely on social care to lead independent, healthy lives. When done right, it empowers them not just to live, but to have a life.
At the MS Society, our new report, End the Care Crisis: Stories from people affected by MS in England, demonstrates the transformative impact social care can have for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). From Edith, whose support enables her to get to work each morning, to Martyn who, with the support of a carer, is able to do things others might take for granted, like go to the cinema.
It also highlights the devastating consequences when people aren’t able to get adequate support. Take Angela, for example. At just 35 with two young children, her husband (and carer) is at breaking point. And yet the first time she contacted the council for support, she was told help was only given to people in wheelchairs.
The system continues to fail us, and that is totally unacceptable.
Disabled people aged 18-64 make up a third of long-term social care users, accounting for almost half of the social care budget. We already know that younger people with MS are less likely to get proper support – only 32% of 18- to 29-year-olds with MS have all their care needs met, compared with 73% of those aged 70 to 79. But this isn’t the only thing illustrating the age divide.
Perhaps one of the most worrying symptoms of our failing social care system is the number of younger adults living in care homes for older people. A Freedom of Information request by the MS Society revealed more than 3,300 adults under 65 are in this situation in England. This indicates that, across the country, almost one in seven younger disabled adults in residential care could be in homes with mostly older people, and potentially missing out on the specialist care they need.
Not only are care homes for older people rarely equipped to meet all the needs of younger adults, living in such settings can be extremely isolating, and have a damaging impact on their quality of life and mental health. This is just one example of a much broader, deep-seated problem.
As a country, we do not provide younger adults with conditions such as MS the care we know they need. The question of how we fund and deliver quality social care has been a subject of debate in this country for at least 20 years. We’ve seen 10 government consultations and reviews of social care in that time, yet our politicians have failed to make the difficult decisions on the back of these.
Social care remains in crisis and there will be a £2.5bn funding gap by the end of the decade. While it’s promising that the government last month finally acknowledged the need to improve social care for younger as well as older people, we must hold it to account on this.
There is increasing evidence that fixing the social care system makes sense – not just ethically and morally but financially too. Reform could help prevent and delay acute needs from developing, reduce pressure on the NHS, galvanise local economies and, most importantly, enable disabled people to live independent, dignified and productive lives.
This latest consultation has to involve disabled people of all ages, offering real action and a bold vision for the future. One that recognises the experiences of everyone who depends on social care, and finally gives us a system that works for all who need it.
Michelle Mitchell is chief executive of the MS Society
Source: We can’t fix social care if we think it’s just for older people : The Guardian
Sensible logic from Poppy, but do Governments do logic let alone sensible.
I am so happy.
Saturday was a good news day for me.
After several weeks of waiting, I finally received the two brown envelopes through the letterbox which told me how I’d done with my enforced PIP (Personal Independence Payment) application and my ESA (Employment Support Allowance) reassessment and I was successful for both Benefits.
And, further to that, a very good family friend also received her brown envelope for PIP on Sarurday as well and she’s been successful as too. Virtual High Fives all over our social media pages let me tell you – we were delerious. We both got to sleep properly for the first time in quite a while that night and we can now both breathe freely once more because we know that our finances are guaranteed for at least the next few years at any rate.
Brilliant!
But, there is something we both want to…
View original post 727 more words
What is this reassessment all about for persons with these conditions are not going to improve. So the reassessment will produce the same results or will show that the conditions have progressed. Surely a reassessment is there to monitor possible improvements, but this is not going to occur, so what savings are there going to be. It will be even more costs to be spent without any cost savings.
Or is the real reasons for these reassessments to cause more anxiety and stress to create an environment to progress the condition more quickly, if that is possible, so the end results will be early premature death, then and only then will there be cost savings.
A form of Government euthanasia or also known as assisted suicide. Suicide is not illegal, but assisted suicide is, unless this is undertaken by the medical profession and now, possibly, the Government itself.
Thousands of disabled people who suffer from progressively worsening conditions will face reassessment for their benefits this year, new figures show.
Campaigners and MPs are now demanding changes to stop those with such conditions being repeatedly reassessed to claim personal independence payments (PIP).
Between April and October, 3,500 people suffering progressive conditions rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease were reassessed for PIP, according to a written parliamentary question from Labour MP Madeleine Moon.
SNP MP Carol Monaghan said she was dealing with four cases in her constituency of people who suffer from MS being reassessed for PIP, despite their condition only getting progressively worse.
“MS is a progressive condition, they’re never going to be any better than they are at the moment, so they should never be asked to go for a re-assessment,” she told the Press Association.
“Some of these people are still able…
View original post 110 more words
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