Manchester ATOS PIP Assessment Centre Penalising Claimants For Using Stairs While Lift Out Of Order
Spotted on Fightback’s Facebook page:
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I see Pall Mall Manchester Atos PIP centre have their lift out of order yet again, and are then allegedly penalising claimants for attempting the 7 or 8 steps into the assessment centre and so called 100 metres to the furthest room from the front door, and stating on their reports that a claimant appears to have no problems with mobility as they managed the stairs, didn’t use the lift, and walked into the building over 100 metres.
Even if someone is shaking/crying and sweating profusely from the effort of trying, as my client showed in May, they may be penalised. My client was told by staff that her claim would be sent back to DWP if she couldn’t get up the stairs, she half crawled them and they witnessed her doing so. This is against The Equality Act 2010 and should be reported as it is direct disability discrimination to hold an assessment for a disability benefit in a centre with no active disabled access.
Sadly the HCP report came this week and voila her 6 year higher rate DLA mobility and car are no more and she is cured, after 2 failing hip replacements 16 yr old ago that desperately need redoing, a partial ankle replacement and severed nerves in her foot from this, and despite being on the list for an urgent right knee replacement, not to mention her spine curvature and scoliosis which also all appear to have apparently been cured. Best of all her left leg has grown miraculously 4 inches in order to match her right, all of which were causing severe walking difficulties for her. This is on top of her serious heart condition which causes her to faint when it races and bursitis of the hip and shoulder. She is a walking miracle!
All of this was because the lift was broken, yet again at the centre, or was it?
Come on ATOS after seemingly improving your practices you are seriously deteriorating fast with these cheap tricks and ridiculous reports. 10 minute reports are also being reported in some areas, how on earth can all the claimants disabilities and needs be discussed in this time adequately?
Anyone else experiencing a sharp influx in “broken lifts” anywhere else in the UK at the moment? We are very interested to hear your stories of disabled access problems and failing equipment so we can help compile a report.
There are some excellent centres out there, one in the centre of Manchester, the purpose of this post is to try and establish if these are isolated incidents, or common practice in this centre or elsewhere. If we establish if it is the latter then we can begin gathering evidence for a more serious complaint than the few relating to this we have.
Michelle Cardno, LLB hons
Disability buddy advocate
Fightback4justice
Same Difference 
I would have phoned them up while at the lift stating I want a new appointment without penalty or they can wait while I get up the stairs in which case I will be arriving late and expect to be seen within 10 minutes of me arriving or I will cancel the appointment and put in a complaint about the centre and include my MP in the list of recipients which will also include that parasite in charge George Iain Duncan Smith.
Maybe we should start filling his inbox with our complaints about the service his government is providing to the sick and disabled
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hum atos leopard change its spots nah just doing the dwp governments work for them denial of benefits yet it hasnt changed one bit now the fight back to get back whot shes entitled to dont forget to complain about this hcp and sar all docs then complain through the nurses union get mp involved has well jeff3
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I was rejected my esa because the panel claimed I had chosen to park at the rear of the building and had no problems getting to the door, a, there is nowhere else to park b, they did not see me get to the door so on what basis was the comment posted, my complaint was rejected as i couldn’t prove they had lied, although the balance of probabilities given the actual facts was that they had.
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I work as a benefits advisor/advocate & took a client to a PIP assessment. She cannot walk more than a few paces and uses a bariatric wheelchair. The parking spaces were down the road & round a corner. The pavement was narrow & I had to wheel her on the road. The “ramp” into the assessment centre resembled a bucket of concrete mix thrown over two steps and it took me and a couple of passers by several minutes to get her into the building.
Once inside, three people had been booked for only two appointments so there was a delay until they sorted that out. Then, it transpired that the room in which her assessment was to take place was down a narrow corridor with no turning space for her wheelchair so we couldn’t get her in.
We eventually had to wheel her backwards down the narrow corridor & swap rooms with someone else. All this took about half an hour – she was then rushed through her assessment. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder in the process of getting her there.
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Expect the report to state that she had no difficulty getting to the assessment and joyously performed several cartwheels when it was over.
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