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National charity calls for DWP to halt PIP roll out until claims process is accessible to all‏

October 1, 2015
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A press release:

National deafblind charity, Sense, has today called for a suspension of the nationwide Personal Independence Payments (PIP) rollout, with evidence that the scheme, which replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA), remains inaccessible to many deafblind and multisensory impaired claimants.  The fear is that the inaccessibility will lead to vulnerable people losing essential benefits.

Sue Brown, Head of Public Policy at Sense said:

“The reassessment of existing DLA claimants has been rolled out to all areas of the country whilst it remains inaccessible to deafblind people. We believe this could lead to individuals losing their benefits through no fault of their own.

“Currently, starting a claim involves using a telephone or filling in a paper questionnaire, both of which are inaccessible for deafblind claimants, or other individuals who are unable to use these claim formats.

“We have reports from professionals who support deafblind people, including interpreters and communicator guides, that DWP staff will not speak to them unless a deafblind person gives consent over the phone first. Many people we support are not able to use the telephone at all.

“The DWP has said that it is developing an online claim process for PIP, however the site is not yet live so deafblind people on DLA will have significant difficulties making a claim. We believe the reassessment of existing DLA claimants on long term awards should not have started until the online claim portal is live.

“We urge the government to ensure the application process for PIP is accessible to deafblind people, or suspend the rollout until it is.  They have to prioritise the development of an online portal, make the process fully accessible by using a variety of communication methods, and enable professionals to make a claim on behalf of a deafblind person.”

PIP replaced DLA for people aged 16 to 64 on 8th April 2013.  The reassessment of existing DLA claimants with long term awards started on a small scale from July 2015, and from today it is rolled out to all areas of the country.  The vast majority of deafblind people have indefinite awards of DLA.

ENDS

Media enquiries:

For enquiries about Sense, please contact Laura Brown at the Sense press office on 020 7014 9381 or email laura.brown@sense.org.uk.

Notes to editors:

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from → disability political policies, politics, progress, publicity

DogLegs- Japan’s Disability Fight Club

October 1, 2015
by

A wrestling club made up of mostly disabled fighters is the focus of a new documentary. The director, Heath Cozens, hopes it will challenge people’s perceptions of what is right and wrong when it comes to disability.

In downtown Tokyo inside a traditional town hall, a paraplegic man throws his head forward to headbutt another. Both of their legs are tied together and, lying on the floor of the ring, they wrestle until the bell signals the end of the round.

The next fight is introduced and Shintaro “Sambo” Yano, a 46-year-old man with cerebral palsy slowly enters the ring.

His opponent is Yukinori “Antithesis” Kitajima, Shintaro’s long-running wrestling arch nemesis. But Kitajima isn’t disabled, and is noticeably stronger than Shintaro.

“He’s the Hitler of disabled care,” shouts the female announcer as she introduces Kitajima. Then the fight begins.

Heath Cozens, a video journalist and documentary maker has been watching the wrestlers go head-to-head for more than five years. He felt uncomfortable when he first attended a fight night and saw the violent scenes of disabled people being pummelled to bleeding point.

“I was so shocked I almost wanted to laugh,” he says, “then I felt bad about wanting to laugh at disabled people, so I felt ashamed. I just couldn’t figure out if this was exploitation, entertainment or true equality.”

Initially he felt it was an abusive situation, especially when he realised that non-disabled people were pitched against disabled opponents who are physically much weaker than them. He even considered making an expose, but after approaching the wrestlers and beginning to film with them, his views changed, and his new documentary emerged.

Named after the wrestling group, the film Doglegs follows five members of the Tokyo league as they confront their disabilities and personal lives – both in the wrestling ring and out. For Cozens it was a chance to show the realities of their lives, and the stark contrast of their experiences in and out of the ring. “These are people who experience extreme prejudice in most areas of their lives,” he says, “but Doglegs gives them an escape from that.”

At the heart of the film is Shintaro – the star of the wrestling group. He started Doglegs 20 years ago, after a fight with another disabled man over the affections of a woman made him realise how much they had both enjoyed the competition and physicality of the brawl.

Along with Kitajima – his life-long friend and wrestling partner – Doglegs was created as just this, a place for disabled people to go and have fun, away from the prejudices of their day-to-day.

Since then it has grown and is now made up of 40 wrestlers. Hundreds of people turn up to watch their fights and the crowds mostly consist of other disabled people and their carers. It is a real community, Cozens says, and disability is at the heart of it.

The group includes people with a number of different disabilities, from multiple sclerosis to mental illness, and all are given their time to prove themselves in the ring.

Yuki Nakajima has severe depression and is currently undergoing treatment for cancer. He often weeps openly when making the walk to the ring as alter ego “Hopeless Goro”. Out of the ring he is close to the other members of the group. They joke about each other’s disabilities and perceived hardships, poking fun of the way each other looks, or the struggles they may endure.

“It’s like when I told you guys I first had cancer,” Nakajima says, “Shintaro looked up and said ‘pass the beer’… It was great. It was so Doglegs.”

Outside the ring Nakajima has a job as the carer for another wrestler Ooga “L’Amant” Ohga who has cerebral palsy. For most of the day Ohga has to stay in his small flat, since his disability and alcoholism is causing serious ill-health.

Technically the wrestlers are split into four different “classes”: Those who lie on their backs to fight, those who sit and fight, those who stand and fight, and an open class. This last option has fluid rules including all wrestlers being tied up, or just headbutting. But sometimes the rules are ignored entirely, Cozens explains.

So it is that Ohga, weighing just 39kg goes against his 80kg wife in the ring. Her legs are tied together in an attempt to make their physicality more equal but she is still able to launch herself into the air to come crashing down onto Ohga, or lift him up and chuck him onto the ring floor.

It seems impossible that Ohga would enjoy this physical barrage, but after one fight in which he is deemed victorious he triumphantly takes the microphone stating: “This is the only place we can can fight and win… I will fight in this ring as long as I live.”

It’s clear that in the ring is the only place Ohga feels equal, and Cozens says that for most of the wrestlers it’s this that makes them want to give the matches their best shot, pain or not. “It doesn’t matter if you’re paraplegic, have depression, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, everybody can get in that ring together and wrestle. In the street people stare at them but they would never expect them to be in a ring that evening wrestling.”

He is keen to point out that people may feel uneasy watching the film. “A lot of non-disabled people feel uncomfortable looking at disabled people’s bodies in general,” he says, “but that is one of the most important things about Doglegs, that they are saying unapologetically, ‘look at me doing this and focus on what my body looks like as I do it.'”

While life in the ring may be enjoyable, outside of the ring the relationship between two members – Shintaro and Kitajima – is intense. They are incredibly close and view each other as brothers. But Kitajima pushes Shintaro harder than anybody, calling him a “loser”, slapping him and urging him to keep practising when he is tired.

As the documentary progresses, their bond in particular is focused on. The time has come for their 20-year battle to be over. Shintaro wants more, and has decided to retire from Doglegs. He wants to be happy now and find love, he says.

But first, he must face Kitajima one more time in the ring.

“I won’t be a pathetic cripple no more,” Shintaro says, “I’m going to beat Kitajima.”

Doglegs has just had its US premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin but hasn’t yet been screened in the UK. Mat Fraser, a presenter and actor who is thalidomide-impaired, says a UK audience will probably struggle to understand Doglegs and be shocked by it. Having spent time in Japan with the wrestling group, he’s keen that people approach it with an open mind. “You have to contextualise Doglegs in Japan, where being a man means being a warrior. These men are being warriors when they enter the ring,” he says.

Fraser sees the wrestling group as a wholly positive thing, but wrestling fan Tom Caster – who has cerebral palsy – says he would be concerned about disabled people being exploited if a similar group was set up here.

“It’s all well and good for people to say this is all fun, but I think it is a step backwards to the era of the freak show rather than a sign of equality,” he says. “I would feel very uncomfortable with people laughing at me or finding entertainment in me fighting another disabled person.”

Cozens says his main aim with this documentary is to challenge people’s “knee-jerk reactions of what is right and wrong when it comes to disability.” Whether Doglegs, and the relationships between the wrestlers are “right” is very much left up to the viewer to decide.

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from → DisAbility on Screen

Autism, My App And Me

October 1, 2015
by

Bethan Jones, 16, has Asperger’s Syndrome and was struggling to cope at school.

She tells BBC Radio 5 live about a new application called Brain In Hand which helps her to manage her stress and anxiety, and stops her from ‘losing it’ in school.

The app has a traffic light system which allows her to reach out to her support worker or her Mum if she needs help. She says: “Green means I’m OK, Orange means I’m not OK but I’ll be alright, and red means I’ve completely blown it and somebody will phone me and make sure I’m OK.”

Bethan thinks the app has helped her to sit her GCSE’s this year, and she’s now studying child development at college. Her support worker Chloe Jones says she’s doing really well and only had to press the ‘red’ emergency button once recently: when popstar Zayn Malik left One Direction.

This clip is originally from 5 live Daily on 30 September 2015

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from → technology

Nicola Sturgeon Has Written To Stuart Chester’s Family

October 1, 2015
by
 THE First Minister has written a letter to the family of a severely disabled man targeted by Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare cuts.
Nicola Sturgeon sent the letter to Stuart Chester’s mother Deborah saying she was saddened to read of her son’s treatment by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) in The National.

Mother-of-two Deborah, 51, told how her son, who has Down’s syndrome and autism had been ordered to prove he is unfit for work.

Stuart cannot speak, read, wash or clothe himself.

The 25-year-old, from Glasgow, who is cared for round-the-clock by his mother, was sent a 20-page work capability assessment form investigate his fitness for work and whether he is entitled to his Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) benefits.

In her letter to Deborah, Sturgeon wrote: “I was saddened to read of Stuart’s treatment by the DWP. Saddened, but I am sorry to say not surprised.

“The Scottish Government is concerned about many aspects of the UK Government’s welfare reforms, including the treatment of disabled people.

“We continue to press the UK Government to make improvements and to ensure safeguards are in place for those who need them.

“You may be aware that, as a result of the Smith Commission process, disability benefits will eventually be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

“We will give careful consideration as to how best to ensure that our new powers are tailored to the needs of the people of Scotland and will ensure that individuals, communities and organisations have their say on this .

“We are very clear that principles of dignity and respect must be central to the development of disability benefit policies in Scotland.”

Deborah and her daughter Amanda said they have been overwhelmed by the support from the First Minister and secretary for social justice Alex Neil.

They also wanted to thank Natalie McGarry MP, SNP spokesperson on disabilities, for offering to help.

Deborah said: “It was really nice of Nicola to send us that letter and it meant a lot.

“The support we have had since we spoke to The National about Stuart’s case has been phenomenal from people all over the world.

“Having these high-profile politicians on our side has helped a lot and hopefully together we can prevent other vulnerable people being targeted.”

Around 2,380 people have died between December 2011 and February 2014 after being found fit for work and losing benefits, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures show.

A DWP spokeswoman said: “It’s impossible to make any link in these statistics between someone dying and their being found fit for work.”

On Stuart’s case, the DWP added: “We regularly review people’s conditions to ensure that they are not simply written off and condemned to a life on benefits. “

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from → disability political policies, politics, progress, updates

Terminally Ill (Step) Father Who Fundraised For (Step) Daughter’s Cancer Treatment Dies Aged 32

September 30, 2015
by

An inspirational dad who raised more than £500,000 to fund his six-year-old stepdaughter’s cancer treatment while he battled a brain tumour has died.

Tom Attwater, 32, captured the hearts of a nation by fighting his own ill health while ensuring stepdaughter Kelli Smith was given the best chance of life.

The youngster endured childhood cancer neuroblastoma aged just three months old and then again aged three in 2012.

But the family were dealt another devastating blow after Tom was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in September that year.

Dedicated Tom ignored his own health concerns and instead focused on fundraising for the daughter of his 28-year-old wife Joely.

He vowed to raise half a million pounds before his death so that Kelli could receive pioneering medical care not available on the NHS.

And in December last year his dying wish came true as he hit the £500,000 mark to be able to send his little girl to the USA for life-saving treatment.

At the time he described the moment as the “greatest achievement of his life” and said he could die safe in knowledge he had given the Kelli the best chance of survival.

A month before he and Joely had even celebrated the birth of their son Fletcher, who was born against the odds while Tom was having cancer treatment.

But yesterday the brave dad lost his battle against the disease and died at his home in Pattingham, Staffs., with his family by his side.

Heartbroken Joely, a social care student, said: “Tom gave me the happiest moments of my life and I am in indescribable pain now he has gone.

“I knew one day I would lose him but did not think it would be this soon.

“I can’t even comprehend how I am supposed to live the rest of my life without my best friend.

“It also saddens me to know our children will have to grow up without their father around.

“This is a very tough time for Kelli. We explained that daddy’s ‘naughty lump’ in his head couldn’t be cured and that one day he would go to heaven while she was still a child.

“That’s why it meant so much to Tom to walk Kelli down the aisle at our wedding because he knew he wouldn’t be there when she is a bride, and Kelli knew this. She will cherish that moment forever.

“When Tom was in hospital and we found out that the time was getting close I gently explained to Kelli that daddy would have to leave us soon.

“It was the most difficult moment of my life. Kelli is a daddy’s girl and she will struggle to adjust without her wonderful, loving father.

“Little Fletcher’s face always lit up and showed a real look of love when he was in Tom’s arms.

“We have hundreds of pictures of their time together and I am devastated that they will be all Fletcher has of the amazing man who was overjoyed to see him born.

“I will do my utmost to bring Fletcher up as a gentleman just like his dad.

“Tom has put cards, letters and presents away for every one of Kelli and Fletcher’s birthdays.

“Tom was my hero. His drive to help Kelli astounded all who knew him. Despite his extreme fatigue and daily seizures, he got out of bed every day to help fundraise.

“He wanted me to know that although he wouldn’t live to any age, Kelli would have the very best chance of life.”

Tom’s father Tony Attwater, 62, said: “We are so proud that despite his illness he managed to raise all that money for the Kelli appeal.

“We will miss him so much. His personality filled the room.”

Daily Mirror Tom Attwater, wife Joely and daughter Kelli
Dad: Tom and Joely with the scan of baby Fletcher

Tom and Minnie Mouse Kelli
My hero: Tom with Kelli dressed in Minnie Mouse ears

His mum Sue Attwater, 61, added: “He worked hard and played hard but family always came first.

“He always told Kelli never to give up on anything but unfortunately this was one fight he could never win.”

When Tom was first diagnosed with astrocytoma, scans showed a tumour covered 11 per cent of his brain.

It quickly worsened and he faced a terminal illness at the age of 29.

But first on his bucket list was raising the whopping #500,000 for Kelli’s appeal and joint second was marrying Joely and having a child together.

He wed Joely in April 2014 and, in August last year, she fell pregnant with Fletcher.

Speaking at the time, delighted Tom said: “I cried and pretty much cried for the entire next day, maybe even two days when she told me.

“It’s the best news I’ve ever had. Having a child and making Kelli a big sister completes our family.”

Kelli is currently cancer free but has been told she is likely to suffer a relapse and the money raised will go towards the treatment in the USA if this occurs.

Joely has now set up a memorial fund in Tom’s name for Brain Tumour Research. It can be found at http://www.justgiving.com/tomattwatermemorialfund

 

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from → tributes, updates

Single Parent Carer Has Her Child Tax Credit Stopped- Because DWP Think Her Local SHOP Is Her Live In Boyfriend

September 30, 2015
by

A single mum has had her benefits stopped because the taxman believe she is in a relationship – with her local SHOP.

Debbie Balandis, 40, was shocked to receive a letter from HMRC saying her £140-a-week child tax credits would be stopped because she had a new man, the Daily Record reports.

She immediately called the tax office and was told activity on her bank account showed a Martin McColl – the trading name for her local newsagent chain RS McColl.

The mum-of-two, from Glagow, tried to explain that she collects benefits from the post office at her local RS McColl and that was why the name appeared on her bank statements.

But she was told her weekly payments were being stopped until she can prove Martin McColl isn’t her live-in lover.

Debbie, who relies on tax credit to look after her 13-year-old son, said: “I couldn’t believe it when I got the letter to say my payments were being stopped so I called them up to see what the mix-up had been.

“I expected it to be sorted over the phone but instead I was told they knew I had a new partner.

“Shocked, I asked them who that was – because I’ve not been in a relationship for 10 years.

“The call handler said they had looked through my benefit payments and asked me who Mr McColl was?

“At first I was surprised – I’d never heard of anyone with that name – but suddenly I realised it was the name of the shop where I was withdrawing my money.

“I begged HMRC not to leave me without a penny all because of a fictitious boyfriend.

“But they didn’t believe me and have now stopped my benefits for supposedly having an affair with the post office.”

Debbie, who lives on £80 a fortnight jobseeker’s allowance, added: “I can’t believe the way they treated me – they made the mistake but I’m the one left to suffer.

“I called HMRC and spent £19 on hold waiting to speak to someone – money I can’t afford. My son has disabilities and he lives for his weekly horse-riding which really helps him.

“Now I have to disappoint him and say I can’t pay for it.

“HMRC say I’ve to write to them again but I’m afraid if I get something wrong it will hold up the process even longer.”

An HMRC spokesman said: “HMRC does not comment on identifiable taxpayers.

“When we have reason to believe someone’s circumstances may have changed, we write to them and allow 30 days for a reply. If we don’t hear anything, payments are suspended.

“Payments will be reinstated as soon as people have provided us with information requested and it has been reviewed.”

RS McColl declined to comment on the tax credit mix-up.

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from → disability political policies, mainstream madness, politics

MS Drugs Should Be Offered Earlier, Says MS Society

September 30, 2015
by

People with the most common form of multiple sclerosis should be offered drug treatment earlier, a charity says.

The Multiple Sclerosis Society’s report suggests there is a “wait-and-see” approach by doctors which needs to end.

But drug watchdog NICE says while this “disease-modifying therapy” can help in some cases, the benefits need to be weighed carefully against side-effects.

It is reviewing exactly when and how some of these relatively new treatments should be used.

‘Clock never stops’

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an incurable condition that can lead to sight loss, pain, fatigue and disability. It affects around 100,000 people in the UK.

Many have a relapsing, remitting version – where they experience flare-ups of symptoms and then have periods where symptoms ease or disappear.

The new review – a result of meetings between patients, medics, charities and researchers – suggests that contrary to some previously held views, the disease may continue to get worse during the remitting phase.

It argues that prompt treatment with disease-modifying medicines may help in these cases.

Michelle Mitchell, of the MS Society, said: “Relapsing, remitting MS has been redefined – we now know the clock never stops with this disease and neither should our fight against it.

“In the UK, the most common treatment option for MS in its early stages is currently no treatment and this needs to change for the sake of tens of thousands of people’s health.”

The organisation is encouraging doctors and patients to agree plans for treatment quickly – within six months of diagnosis.

But Dr Paul Cooper, a brain specialist who advises the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) says although disease-modifying drugs have a role in established relapsing, remitting disease, there is still debate about their use early on in the condition.

He added: “These drugs are potent with potentially long-term side-effects and consequences, therefore we have to balance the risks and benefits.

“NICE is looking into these issues but the analysis is not yet complete and the data needs to be looked at carefully.”

He says there are other things that can help people with multiple sclerosis, including better accesses to specialists and physiotherapy.

NICE plans to publish a new appraisal of drugs used to treat MS in 2017.

In the meantime, doctors can prescribe these drugs, guided by specific criteria, including the number of previous relapses.

People with multiple sclerosis can also be diagnosed with a primary progressive form of the condition where symptoms get gradually worse over time – without periods of remission.

According to the NHS, there is currently no treatment that can slow the progress of this form of the disease.

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from → progress

Womb Transplants Offer New Hope To Women With MRKH Syndrome

September 30, 2015
by

The prospect of British women without wombs being able to give birth to their own babies has moved a step closer with the announcement of a clinical trial for the first womb transplants in the UK. One of those women, Sophie Lewis, has been watching the developments closely.

Sophie, 30, is one of the women hoping to be selected as one of the first 10 recipients of a womb transplant.

She was 16 when she was diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome – a condition which meant her womb did not develop – and told she would not be able to give birth.

Sophie is now preparing to marry her long-term partner Tilden Lamb next year and says the desire to have children had increased as she has grown older.

She says: “We have been together five-and-a-half years now and he feels the same as I do.

“I was always open with him from day one and we have discussed surrogacy and adoption. We are very much ‘what will be, will be’, but he is excited about the opportunity offered by a transplant.

“When I was 16, I was told that I would never have children or that I would need to use a surrogate or look at adoption. But then this whole other opportunity opened up to me.”

Sophie says she realises a womb transplant is still relatively experimental, but that she has faith in the doctors leading the clinical trial.

She says the birth of a baby in Sweden through the technique had made her cry.

“It’s a huge operation but it’s very exciting to be given this opportunity.

“To be able to carry my own child would be amazing.

“If I don’t get picked, then we will go down the surrogacy route.”

Sophie’s parents are supportive of her plans to be involved in the trial, but her mother worries about the implications of the surgery.

“She’s worried because it’s a big operation,” Sophie says. “But then on the other side she understands why I would want to do it.

“I think carrying your own child would be amazing.

“With a surrogate, you wouldn’t feel the baby kick or move around. To be able to feel your baby move must be amazing.

“I want to experience the love you have for your child. It makes a family really.”

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from → progress, rare conditions

Stuart Chester And Family Met With Scotland Minister Alex Neil

September 30, 2015
by
A SEVERELY disabled victim of the Tory’s ruthless welfare reforms and his family have met Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil for the first time to discuss ways of working together to save other vulnerable people suffering under the new system.

The National exclusively revealed earlier this month how Stuart Chester, who has Down’s syndrome and autism, cannot speak, read, wash or clothe himself, has been ordered to prove he is unfit for work.

The 25-year-old lives with his mother Deborah McKenzie in Glasgow and gets round-the-clock care but he was sent a 20-page work capability assessment form to fill in that will investigate his fitness for work and whether he deserves his Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) benefits.

Deborah, 51, has filled in the form for him but she is still very worried he will have to be taken in for a work capability assessment. That is because, she says, the Tory Government doesn’t care that their system is killing people after their own figures revealed how nearly 90 people a month are dying after being declared fit for work.

Statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) showed that during the period between December 2011 and February 2014 2, 380 people died after their claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) ended because a work capability assessment (WCA) found they were found fit for work.

For the first time, a coroner officially blamed the DWP for a death after the inquest into disabled Michael O’Sullivan, 60, who killed himself after wrongly being deemed fit for work and losing benefits.

Neil is calling on the people of Scotland to join him in his fight to have welfare powers devolved to stop vulnerable people being victimised and families put on the breadline because of sanctions.

Deborah said: “It was really great to meet Alex because he seems so passionate about it and we know he is fighting our corner. He is just as disgusted with what the Tories are doing to vulnerable people as everyone else but his hands are tied unless we have further devolution and the Scottish Government have control over the welfare system in Scotland or we go independent.

“All we can do is continue to fight against the injustice and shout about it from the rooftops until someone eventually listens but the Tories don’t care if people die as a result of their benefit cuts, they just want to save money.

“We have all got to stand together and say enough is enough, right now before more disabled people die because of it. I cannot understand how they are getting away with killing people. It is genocide, they are killing people and doing it the most ruthless way possible. It beggars belief.

“It is heartbreaking and it makes me so angry. Labour are just as bad because they have allowed this to happen.”

Her daughter Amanda, 29, set up a Facebook page in Stuart’s name and so far more than 1,000 people from all over the world have shown their support.

Amanda said: “I was impressed with Alex and he seems passionate about taking it forward and helping my mum and Stuart, and others in the same situation.

“The amount of support we have had since we spoke out in The National has been amazing and everyone keeps telling us not to give up the fight. We have had people from all over the world who just cannot believe this is happening in a civilised country.”

Alex said he was delighted to meet Stuart and his family for the first time since his shocking case was exposed.

He said: “I was angry the first time The National told me about what was happening to Stuart. It is absolutely abhorrent that someone like Stuart who is on lifetime DLA, that he and his family are put through this hell by the DWP and their agencies.

“Unfortunately, Stuart is not the only one who is going through this terrible experience.

“One of my constituents in particular was bedridden and called in for a work assessment, and trying to convince the DWP that the lady in question was unfit to get out of bed, never mind attend a work assessment – it was almost impossible to persuade them.”

He said people are living in fear of the DWP and called on the people of Scotland to fight for a devolved welfare system.

Neil added: “The only way for us in Scotland is to have the powers over all of this to be transferred to the Scottish Parliament because no matter who was in government in Scotland, no party would ever allow this to happen.

“That’s because we take a much more humane approach to the whole issue of benefits up here.

“The only way of getting the powers transferred is to use the powers of the ballot box at every opportunity to send a loud and clear message to London that we are not prepared to put up with it.

“Even for those folk who wouldn’t want to go for independence there is no reason why they couldn’t support the transfer of these powers to a Scottish

Parliament so we get a humane social security system instead of one that is making people ill or leading them to take their own lives.”

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from → disability political policies, mainstream madness, politics, updates

Petition Asking Manchester Airport For Transfer Hoists For Disabled Passengers

September 30, 2015
by

I signed this yesterday:

Manchester Airport is one of the busiest airports in the UK, yet they still do not have a hoisting solution for their disabled passengers. This is something which their two main competitors, Heathrow and Gatwick, have already achieved.

Hoists are essential for many disabled people to allow them to be transferred safely, comfortably and with dignity.

When my younger brother has to travel by plane he- like many other disabled people- has to be dragged onto a dreaded aisle chair, transferred and dragged again into his seat. This long process would be uncomfortable for anyone, but for many disabled people it is downright painful.

The ‘dragging’ is usually done by (well-meaning!) airport staff. This kind of man-handling by strangers is obviously humiliating and uncomfortable, not only that; it is also unsafe. He usually gets injured somehow during the whole exhausting process.

These experiences are not unique to my family. In 2008 Christopher Stott’s chair tipped over during transfer onto a Thomas Cook plane, causing him to fall to the floor. Being paralysed from the shoulders down, he required help to get back up, but found that staff could not adequately help him [1]. These kinds of stories are everywhere; you only have to look for them to see how many people are struggling with the lack of provision for disabled people.
Why this is still seen as acceptable I have no idea.

This lack of provision means that many disabled people do not or cannot fly. It’s bad enough that my little brother can’t access the toilets on planes, but the fact that he is even excluded from getting on in the first place is even more distressing.

These barriers exclude so many people, BUT there is a simple solution! Transfer hoists would allow so many more disabled people to get out and see the world and to have the same opportunities as their able-bodied counterparts!

And hoists are not only a necessity for many disabled passengers; they’re also more time-efficient than the current systems, meaning airlines have quicker turnaround times.

Virgin Atlantic recognise that these hoists are vital for many of their disabled passengers and have been contacting Manchester Airport, but they have also been ignored. However, airlines such as Thomson, Ryanair, EasyJet and British Airways have failed to support the use of these hoists at Manchester Airport.

It is time that these airlines, the airport and OCS realise just how vital these hoists are for so many people and how urgent it is that they get them. I hope that this petition will mean that Manchester Airport, OCS and the airlines finally commit to helping their disabled passengers.

 

[1] http://www.reducedmobility.eu/20141030513/The-News/british-war-hero-ben-parkinson-mbe-humiliated-on-thomas-cook-flight.html

 

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from → campaigns

Why Disabled People Will Celebrate When IOS9 Brings Ad Blocking To Mobile Devices

September 30, 2015
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We’ve all been there: we want to shop online, find a new recipe for supper, catch up on the latest news or watch a video – only to be dazzled by a moving, blinking or flashing advert. These “autoplaying” ads are annoying for most internet users, but for those with disabilities or long-term conditions, they make those websites largely inaccessible.

For people with photosensitive epilepsy, frequently flashing or flickering images could trigger or increase the risk of a seizure, while automatic advertising can be distressing for those with learning disabilities because it hinders concentration and therefore comprehension of the content they are trying to consume.

Blind and visually impaired people can also have problems. “If you are blind or visually impaired and using text to speech software on your device, autoplaying animations or video that includes music or audio makes some web pages all but impossible to access,” says Robin Christopherson, head of digital inclusion at charity AbilityNet, in his latest blog. “The audio that automatically starts playing completely obscures the speech of the screen reader. This means that blind people can’t hear the screen reader and therefore they can’t navigate to the ‘stop’ button to stop the noise.”

So this month’s launch of Apple’s operating system iOS 9 could revolutionise the lives of disabled iPhone and iPad users, because it will allow ad-blocking software to work on its mobile browsers for the first time. It won’t stop intrusive or auto-playing content on apps, but will filter it out from any web page accessed via a mobile browser.

The ability to block ads has existed for a while on desktops and for Android phones, but many disabled people choose to use Apple products because they have a wide range of built-in accessibility features. Android is catching up, and also offers options to make phones more usable, regardless of any impairment or disability the user may have.

Still, for some people, standard mobile phones are not the best option. The GeorgiePhone is more appropriate for blind and visually impaired users who need simpler technology. Available as an “alternative interface” on Android phones, it claims to be “far more than a screenreader for smartphones” by providing big talking buttons, clear print, simple layout and choice of colours. It enables you to use the clear on-screen keyboard or your voice to make calls, manage contacts, send and receive texts, hear the time and date, get assistance and set phone preferences. Additional GeorgiePhone functions include weather, finding the nearest bus stop, and basic colour detection to check if you are wearing matching socks.

Other specialist apps aim to enable those with sight loss or impairment to be more independent. Be My Eyes makes life easier for blind people by connecting them to a network of sighted helpers through their iPhone app (it is not available on Android). This helps with tasks such as checking the sell-by date on the milk in the fridge, or finding the right tie to wear.

Blindsquare is an accessible GPS-app for the iPhone and iPad which describes the environment, and announces points of interest and street intersections as blind or visually impaired people travel. Talking Goggles recognises images using a camera and internet connection, and speaks out what it finds. It recognises almost any image, including logos, landmarks, books, products, artwork and text. It is available for iPhone and Android.

For deaf users, in addition to in-built smartphone functions such as hearing aids, the Dragon Dictation app transcribes the words someone is speaking for the person who is hard of hearing to read, aiding conversation, while MobileSign allows deaf people to learn British sign language on the go. For those who have no use of their hands, Sesame is a touch-free smartphone that is controlled by the user’s head movements using sensitive motion detection and the selfie camera function on the phone.

There’s still a long way to go, and technology companies could do more to ensure accessibility is built into new devices and app design. But digital innovation is doing much to enable those with disabilities and long-term conditions to live richer, more independent lives. And that can only be a good thing.

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from → progress, technology

Business Disability Forum reflects upon 20 years of the Disability Discrimination Act

September 30, 2015
by

A press release:

 

London, UK – This month marks twenty years since pioneering legislation protecting the rights of disabled people was enacted in the form of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

Business Disability Forum (BDF), formerly known as the Employers Forum on Disability, remains proud to have supported the partnership between business and the disabled rights movement that helped shape the provisions of the Act.

Two decades on, BDF reflects upon the significant progress that has been made since the DDA’s inception, with businesses in the private and public sectors increasing their positive engagement with disability and levelling the playing field for disabled employees and customers.

With its robust set of guidelines for business, the DDA undoubtedly played a vital part in helping companies to improve their disability performance and, in turn, strengthened the legal rights of disabled people to hold to account those companies that fell short.

The DDA, which has since been succeeded by the Equality Act, focussed on whether someone suffered discrimination as a result of their impairment, rather than whether their impairment disabled them. The Act’s strong focus on the responsibility of employers and service providers to make adjustments and remove barriers for disabled people has helped pave the way for the development of more inclusive workplaces and markets.

Bela Gor, Legal Director at BDF and the UK’s first specialist disability discrimination lawyer said:

“The DDA was unique in discrimination legislation in recognising that true social change would only be achieved by being proactive. The DDA prohibited discriminatory or less favourable treatment of disabled people but it also, more importantly, required employers and service providers to act to remove disabling barriers. The reasonable adjustment provisions of the DDA forced employers and service providers to recognise that treating everyone equally or the same is not enough to level the playing field and enable disabled people to take their rightful place as employees, consumers and citizens.

Everyone is different, and twenty years on businesses have come to realise that you have to treat people differently in order to treat them fairly.”

The progress over the past 20 years has been considerable and while there is much to be celebrated, BDF urges businesses to avoid becoming complacent. BDF’s recent Walkaway Pound research has highlighted that 75% of disabled customers have left a business or service provider because of poor disability awareness and understanding.

The evidence illustrates that there is more to do to ensure that disabled people can access products and services in the same way as non-disabled people. With the value of the ‘Purple Pound’ currently estimated at over £212bn per year, there is much incentive for businesses to do more to secure the loyalties of disabled customers.

There are a number of initiatives taking place to mark this important anniversary, one of which includes a dedicated DDA supplement in the Guardian newspaper, published on Wednesday 30 September. BDF is delighted to have sponsored this supplement that will help to raise further awareness of the considerable progress made over the past 20 years.

Moreover, BDF is pleased to support disability charity Scope who have launched a new appeal to record and mark the movement that led to this landmark law as well as honouring the unsung heroes and their tireless campaigning.

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from → disability political policies, politics, publicity, the law

Man With CP Asked To Leave Nightclub Because He Was a Safety Hazard In His Wheelchair

September 30, 2015
by

A disabled man claims he was asked to leave a nightclub because he was a “safety hazard”.

Nate Williams has a form of cerebral palsy which affects his balance and co-ordination, and uses a wheelchair.

He visited Rosies club in Chester with friends last Friday night but he says he was told by doormen the floor he was on would shortly be closing.

When it did close he would be asked to leave because the upstairs floors were not wheelchair-friendly and the building had no lift or ramp, Nate says.

Nate was offered free entry until it was time for the floor to close, at which time he says a doorman asked him to leave – despite his protests he could walk upstairs with a friend’s help.

The 23-year-old from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, said: “I have been on many nights out across the country and I’ve never been treated with such disrespect.

“I’ve been using a wheelchair since I was 12. I’m very active and compete regularly in athletics but they asked me to leave because I was a ‘safety hazard’ even though I had the full ability to walk upstairs and look after myself.”

He continued: “I have been to Rosies before and getting into the club is not very practical – escorted by a bouncer through a back alley, past rotten smelling bins and through two heavy fire-exit doors – but I didn’t mind as long as I was allowed in with my friends.

“What I didn’t appreciate was the way I was kicked out and not allowed to join my friends upstairs on the top floor.

“A hazard is defined as a danger to others and this made me feel like an inhuman creature that should not be part of society.

“It was the biggest example of discrimination I have faced in my entire life and it shouldn’t have happened.”

Nate said he left the club as he didn’t want to ruin his friend’s birthday by getting the whole group thrown out.

“I’m not trying to dissuade people from Rosies,” he said. “It’s a great place to have a night out but I’m just trying to point out the way they handled this situation is ignorant and disrespectful.”

Read more Guilt-ridden thieves return disabled student’s £2,500 wheelchair after his Facebook post goes viral

A spokeswoman for Rosies said the safety of their customers was always a top priority.

“Complimentary entry was permitted through a private door to our ‘first floor’ area to enable the young man who was in a wheelchair to enjoy some time with his friends in our club,” the spokesperson said.

“The group were advised that this was the only area suitable for a wheelchair and that this area of the club would close around 12.30am.

“As customers then moved to the second floor the gentleman concerned expressed his displeasure when being asked to leave.

“The safety of our customers is paramount and given the building is listed and has no lift, or emergency ramp facilities, for the safety of the customer concerned, and our other guests, he was respectfully asked to leave at the time advised upon entry.”

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from → mainstream madness

A Mother’s Petition To David Cameron For Changing Places Toilets

September 30, 2015
by

I signed this yesterday.

Dear David
I’m writing to you about my daughter and how I want to make her future a brighter one. My girl is 5 and has global development delay, is non-verbal and a wheelchair user. She is also one of the happiest little girls I know, however, as her mum I can see a big black cloud on her journey through life. My daughter is unable to maintain a sitting balance and is unable to tell me when she needs the loo, she is therefore still in nappies. Now when I have to change her in disabled public conveniences I am more and more often faced with the challenge of either changing her on a baby changing table and hoping that it wont break because she’s not the size of your average baby, or changing her on the toilet floor. More and more often it’s the latter, which is unsanitary, unhygienic and in my mind inhumane as well as undignified. I don’t know what body fluids may have spilled there, or what might have come in on someone’s wheelchair wheels, this in my eyes is a completely unacceptable and unreasonable situation for anybody to be exposed to. I am also aware that each time I move and handle her in this way I am putting myself at risk of an acute back injury and this will become more of a risk as she gets older and bigger, how people manage to change adults in this way beggars belief.

Currently British Standards recommends the following…

BS 8300:2009 Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people was published on the 27th February 2009, and recommends that Changing Places toilets should be provided in larger buildings and complexes,
such as:
a) major transport termini or interchanges, e.g. large railway stations and airports
b) motorway services
c) sport and leisure facilities, including large hotels
d) cultural centres, such as museums, concert halls and art galleries
e) stadia and large auditoria
f) shopping centres and shopmobility centres
g) key buildings within town centres, e.g. town halls, civic centres and main public libraries
h) educational establishments
i) health facilities, such as hospitals, health centres and community practices.

Here you can find a copy of the standards set by the “Changing Places” consortium, for providing a truly accessible disabled toilet.

http://www.changing-places.org/install_a_toilet/design/changing_places_standards.aspx

I believe that instead of being used as a recommendation, it should be compulsory for “Changing Places” toilets to be installed in the public places mentioned above, and should be included in plans before planning permission can be granted. I also believe that the location of the nearest “Changing Places” toilet be advertised in standard disabled toilets as too often the disabled public are unaware of where the most appropriate facilities are, due to them not being widely advertised.

If you agree that it is unsafe, unreasonable and inhumane for anybody to be changed on a toilet room floor in this day and age then please join me in asking for Equality of Access to Disabled Toilets For All and take a moment to sign and share this petition, and help build a better and brighter future for my daughter and others like her

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from → campaigns, special parents

Daughter Of Michael O’Sullivan To Take Human Rights Case To UN

September 29, 2015
by
THE grieving daughter of a disabled man who took his own life after being wrongly declared fit for work is getting help from Scottish disability rights campaigners to take his case to the United Nations over human rights violations and also make an official complaint to the General Medical Council (GMC).

Medical adviser Dr Stephen Carty, an Edinburgh GP and medical adviser for the Black Triangle campaign group, is helping Michael O’Sullivan’s daughter Anne-Marie compile a complaint against the GMC’s handling of her father’s assessment and their failure to act.

As part of the UN’s investigation into Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms, they are putting together a dossier of information about the 60-year-old’s tragic case.

Details of a coroner’s report, which ruled that father-of-two O’Sullivan died as a direct result of being found fit for work by the UK Government’s disability assessors, was exposed by the Disability News Service investigative journalist John Pring last week and it’s the first time the UK Government’s ruthless welfare cuts have been blamed for the death of a claimant.

In the report to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the coroner for inner north London demanded it take action to prevent further deaths after concluding the “trigger” for O’Sullivan’s suicide was his fit-for-work assessment.

The north London man was moved from Employment Support on to Jobseeker’s Allowance after 10 years despite providing reports from three doctors, including his GP, stating that he had long-term depression and agoraphobia and was unable to work. He killed himself at his home on September 24, 2013.

Anne-Marie insisted her father should never have been ruled fit to work and plans to explore very avenue in her fight for justice.

John McArdle, Black Triangle campaign manager, said: “We are helping Anne-Marie to compile a complaint against the GMC and their lack of action against the doctor, employed by Atos, who ignored all other medical advice and found her dad fit for work.

“We have had a meeting with our campaign medical advisor Dr Carty and we are preparing the paperwork as we speak. This is a complaint against the doctor who carried out the assessment and, more importantly, about the failures in the systems and policies that we believe are to blame.

“We are also putting together a dossier to make a submission to the United Nation’s human rights rapporteur who are doing an investigation into the alleged grave and systemic violations of disabled people’s fundamental human rights and we will send a copy to the UK Government.”

Last week Black Triangle campaigners urged the GMC to “step into the breach” over O’Sullivan’s death after an Atos Healthcare-employed doctor, a former orthopaedic surgeon, assessing him for the DWP had not taken the same view as other doctors treating him that he was not fit for work.

Carty said it was “incumbent” upon the GMC to look into the case.

He told The National: “This is a very serious case, for a coroner to say that the patient committed suicide because of decision that was made, it really is incumbent on the GMC to take some leadership here.

“The GMC publishes good medical practice which advises that a doctor must act where there are systems and policies that may cause avoidable harm.

“If you take this doctor who has not done an adequate risk assessment, ignored further medical evidence and when the information is provided by the claimant not asked about suicide risk, not passed it up the chain to the medical adviser and has just made what with hindsight is a very ill-informed decision.”

Campaigners also called on the Scottish Government to get involved and put the GMC’s chairman Professor Terrence Stephenson before the Scottish Parliament’s health and reform committee for questioning.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government has made its views clear on the UK Government Work Capability Assessment. We believe it is a process that is not fit for purpose and at times can penalise vulnerable people, as this case has highlighted.

“We have established a range of programmes and services, underpinned with significant investment, to mitigate against the worst of the UK Government’s cuts.

“We support the calls for a full Department for Work and Pensions review of this case and the wider system, and we would also encourage anyone that is concerned about a Work Capability Assessment to seek advice and support.”

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from → disability political policies, politics, updates

Capita assessors STILL refusing to disclose qualifications

September 29, 2015
by

jaynel62's avatarjaynelinney

Despite the DWP informing Capita it is a “requirement” that PIP assessors must reveal qualifications, it transpires that in Leicester at least, this information has not been passed down.

Last Tuesday Nicki, one of DEAEP’s Peer Supporters went along with a customer to the local Capita Assessment centre; when she asked for the medical qualifications of Stuart the assessor, she was told it was Capita policy this information was withheld?

I’m making no suggestion this will have any influence on the decision, but it does make me wonder how much the DWP requires of assessors, is communicated to them?

I’d be interested to know if anyone else has had this experience?

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from → disability political policies, politics

H&M’s Latest Advert Features An Amputee Model

September 29, 2015
by

The mainstream media are making more of the fact it features a Muslim female model in a hijab. There is also a transgender model and a group of Sikh models.

Diversity doesn’t know where to start!

This ad just gives me yet another reason to love H&M.

See it for yourselves, readers:

And if anyone knows the name of the amputee model, please do leave it in the comments below.

 

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from → progress

Nepal Considering Disability Restrictions For Everest Climbers

September 29, 2015
by

Any thoughts, readers? Discrimination or health and safety? Personally, I wouldn’t choose to climb Mount Everest, or any mountain. But considering that disabled people have successfully climbed Everest in the past, I can’t see any reason for these restrictions.

The Nepalese government is considering banning anyone deemed too young or too old or with a severe disability from climbing Mount Everest.

A spokesman said under new proposals, no-one younger than 18 or older than 75 would be allowed to climb.

The ministry of tourism could also insist that all climbers have previous mountaineering experience.

Nepal makes millions of dollars every year from the Everest industry but has been criticised for poor management.

In 2014, the mountain was closed after 16 Sherpas (guides) died in an accident.

And earlier this year, the climbing season was called off after a massive earthquake triggered an avalanche that killed 18 climbers.

Over the past decade many people have sought to establish world records on the world’s highest mountain, a practice the government wants to discourage.

The youngest person to climb Mount Everest was 13 and the oldest 80.

“We don’t think we should issue permits to people who cannot see or walk or who don’t have arms,” tourism department chief Govinda Karki told AFP news agency.

Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption A huge earthquake in April triggered a deadly earthquake on the mountain

“Climbing Everest is not a joke… it is not a matter of discrimination. How can you climb without legs? Someone will have to carry you up. We want to make the mountains safer for everyone, so we have to insist on some rules.”

Mr Karki also said the government was considering only issuing permits to climbers who have already scaled another mountain above 6,500m (21,300ft).

Over the years, Everest has attracted many climbers aiming to overcome their disabilities.

Last week, Japanese mountaineer Nobukazu Kuriki, who had previously lost nine fingers to frostbite, abandoned his attempt to climb the mountain.

In 2006, New Zealander Mark Inglis, who had lost both legs to frostbite, became the first double amputee to reach the 8,848m (29,029ft) summit.

Five years earlier, US climber Erik Weihenmayer became the first blind person to reach the top of Everest.

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from → DisAbility in the News, DisAbled Challengers

Disabled Syrian Man’s Struggle In Calais Camp

September 29, 2015
by

Ali is 21 and has been living in difficult conditions in a migrant camp in Calais for over a month now.

After deserting President Bashar al-Assad’s army in Syria, he says he was tortured and bombed by them which left him in a four-week coma and with brain damage. He also lost the use of an arm.

He struggles to look after himself – he cannot wash, dress or get food without the help of a cousin who travelled with him to the camp in France.

They try every night to make it to the UK but, because of his impairments, Ali is afraid he has little chance of getting across.

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from → DisAbility in the News

Stem Cell Trial Will Aim To Cure Blindness

September 29, 2015
by

Surgeons in London have carried out a pioneering human embryonic stem cell operation in an ongoing trial to find a cure for blindness for many patients.

The procedure was performed on a woman aged 60 at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

It involved “seeding” a tiny patch with specialised eye cells and implanting it at the back of the retina.

The London Project to Cure Blindness was established a decade ago to try to reverse vision loss in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Ten patients with the wet form of AMD will undergo the procedure.

All will have suffered a sudden loss of vision as a result of defective blood vessels in the eye.

They will be monitored for a year to check that the treatment is safe and whether their vision improves.

The woman who was the patient – and does not wish to be named – had the operation last month.

Prof Peter Coffey, of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, who is co-leading the London Project, said: “We won’t know until at least Christmas how good her vision is and how long that may be maintained, but we can see the cells are there under the retina where they should be and they appear to be healthy.”

The cells being used form the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) – the layer of cells that nourish and support the photoreceptors in the macula – the seeing part of the eye.

In macular degeneration, the RPE cells die, and as a result the eye loses function.

Patients with AMD lose their central vision, which becomes distorted and blurred.

The cells used in the operation were originally derived from a donated early embryo – smaller than a pinhead – which has the potential to become any cell in the body.

Prof Lyndon Da Cruz of Moorfields Eye Hospital, who carried out the surgery, said: “This is truly a regenerative project. In the past it’s been impossible to replace lost neural cells.

“If we can deliver the very layer of cells that is missing and give them their function back this would be of enormous benefit to people with the sight-threatening condition”.

If the treatment is successful, the scientists say, it would also help patients in the early stages of dry AMD, and could potentially halt their vision loss.

AMD affects more than 600,000 people in the UK and is the leading cause of sight loss in the developed world.

It is estimated that one in every 10 people over 65 has some degree of AMD.

The team at Moorfields is working in partnership with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which is funding the trial.

It is not known how much the one-off surgical treatment might cost, although the scientists involved point out that treating and dealing with sight loss is a huge burden on the NHS.

It is not the first time that scientists have used stem cells derived from human embryos in patients with sight loss.

In 2012, patients with Stargardt’s disease – which leads to progression deterioration of vision – were injected with embryonic stem cells in a safety trial carried out in the US and UK – which also involved a team at Moorfields.

AMD

  • Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a painless eye condition that causes you to lose central vision, usually in both eyes
  • This makes reading difficult, colours appear less vibrant and faces can be hard to recognise.
  • Peripheral vision remains unaffected, so while it won’t cause complete blindness it is debilitating
  • AMD affects more than 600,000 people in the UK and is the leading cause of vision loss
  • It is more common with age and there are two main types – wet AMD and dry AMD
  • Dry AMD is the most common and least serious type and develops when cells at the back of the eye become damaged by the build-up of deposits
  • Wet AMD is more serious and develops when abnormal blood vessels form and damage the cells at the back of the eye
  • There is currently no cure for either type

Of more relevance to the current trial are the 40 AMD patients already treated at Moorfields with cells taken from their own eyes.

Prof Da Cruz said “We saw extraordinary recovery, with some people being able to read again and drive, and that recovery being sustained for years.”

He explained that using the patient’s own cells was complex and carried risks, which is why the London Project opted for the embryonic stem cell line, which can produce a limitless supply of specialist cells.

Prof Da Cruz said animal studies had shown that surgery to introduce the sheet of cells into the eye was feasible.

So although the team cannot say whether this trial will work, the years of planning give them confidence that this treatment has huge potential.

It is far too early to make any judgment, but if successful, it would be a stunning medical advance of huge implications.

The results from the first patient, and subsequent volunteers, will be eagerly awaited.

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from → progress

Katie Hopkins Sparks Twitter Outrage After Calling A Disabled Baby ‘It’

September 29, 2015
by

Katie Hopkins has gone too far – again.

This time, the professional ranter of awful opinions – who has previously been slammed by the United Nations – has gone after a baby born with an extreme malformation of the brain , and branded him ‘it’.

The disgusting Twitter post – which is still up there, despite a barrage of backlash from her followers – read: “Plain wrong. If your baby has half a head, you don’t have it.

“Cruel and inhumane,” Hopkins added alongside a picture of the adorable baby boy.

Her followers reacted strongly to condemn the tweet, with her Celebrity Big Brother nemesis Perez Hilton blasting her: “Remember what I said about your children?

“I hope you don’t have any guns or sharp knives around the house! You evil c***!”

Another added: “Seriously Hopkins. I don’t even have the words for what I’ve just read. You absolutely disgust me.”

“Your words are cruel and inhumane. FGS, show some compassion and choose your words carefully. Gobs***e.”

Tiny Jaxon Buell – nicknamed Jaxon Strong – is not only strong by name, but also by nature as he continues to defy doctors and show improvements every day.

Jaxon was born last August with Microhydranencephaly, an uncurable malformation of the brain.

His proud parents Brittany and Brandon are now sharing their story in order to show others than the condition will not define Jaxon’s life.

Microhydranencephaly can cause microcephaly and scalp rugae which means Jaxon’s head is smaller than normal.

It also means his scalp is ridged – but that doesn’t stop Jaxon from living life to the full.

Jaxon’s mum and dad said: “Ultimately, Jaxon will need a miracle long-term. We continue to ask for support and prayers, as it is a blessing that his Mom continues to stay home with him for constant care.”

Brittany gave up her job to care for the tiny tot and has since launched a crowdfunding page to help with Jaxon’s medical bills.

They wrote on their page: “Jaxon has already shown how strong, smart, and special he is, accomplishing feats that doctors doubted he’d ever be able to do, shows improvements each and every day, and just reached a miraculous milestone in celebrating his first birthday.

“These funds help pay for our regular monthly expenses and Jaxon’s continuous medical care, which changes frequently.”

The family have so far raised an impressive $54,902 of their $70,000 target.

They are now encouraging people to give them support for Jaxon’s “year two”.

Jaxon’s father, Brandon hit out out as trolls who have targeted his inspirational son in a post on his Facebook profile.

Brandon said: “It’s baffling to hear or see other people’s opinions on our baby that have never met him, that somehow know how he thinks, how he acts, how he feels, how much of what he does is voluntary or involuntary, how he is always in pain, and that we are selfish parents for not choosing to have an abortion.”

He added: “When we first learned there were concerns for Jax during the pregnancy, we were given the options of carrying him to term or having an abortion because there was the unknown issue.

“No doctor could tell us exactly what was wrong or what to expect, but we did make sure to ask if Jaxon was in pain or was suffering, and we asked if there were any added risks for Brittany during the pregnancy or potentially at time of delivery.

“Since the answer to both questions was ‘no’, we never came close to considering abortion.

“Yes, we are Christians, and our faith has certainly been vital during this entire journey for our family, but we’re still realists.”

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from → mainstream madness

Mixed Reactions To Disabled Delegate’s ‘Gas Chamber’ Comments At Labour Conference 2015

September 29, 2015
by

David Cameron has been accused of making disabled people want to walk “into the gas chamber” with plans to scrap the Human Rights Act.

Speaking on the stage at Labour’s annual conference in Brighton this morning, Sioux Blair-Jordan, a member of the Colchester Labour Party, attacked the government wanting to downgrade the influence the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has in the United Kingdom.

The prime minister has said he would like to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British bill of rights.

 

But Blair-Jordan said the ECHR and membership of the European Union were necessary to protect the rights of disabled people.

“We need the disabled and the sick to be seen as human beings,” she said. “To have our rights upheld. And we need the NHS. We also need the EU to uphold our human rights, because if Cameron does his bill of rights we might as well walk into the gas chamber today.”

She added: “We need the Labour Party to support us, to turn the tide of denomination, vilification and dehumanisation of the sick and the disabled in this country.”

But her reference to gas chambers prompted anger from some who felt that the comparison to the Holocaust was offensive.

The Sun’s Westminster correspondent Harry Cole claimed on Twitter that justice minister Dominic Raab said it was “extraordinarily bad taste” for the Labour conference to applaud the comments:

 

A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism told The Express: “Sioux Blair-Jordan’s reference to gas chambers was gratuitous and offensive. Over six million Jews as well as others, including the disabled, were murdered during the Holocaust, many of them in gas chambers.

“Education about antisemitism and the attempted Genocide of Europe’s Jewish people is vitally important, especially as antisemitism is rising once again in many parts of Europe.”

She added that Jeremy Corbyn had hugged Blair-Jordan, when Labour should be condemning her comments.

The Conservative Party pledged to repeal the Human Rights Act in its manifesto at the general election. The Act, brought in by Labour, incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into British domestic law. The law also required the UK to take account of the decisions of the ECHR.

Cameron has argued that the final say on human rights should rest with the UK Supreme Court, not the European court.

However the move has been criticised by opposition politicians. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has branded it a “monumental mistake”.

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from → disability political policies, politics

DWP Deliberately Misled Michael O’Sullivan Coroner In Order To Cover Up WCA Failings

September 28, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The DWP deliberately misled a coroner about three missed opportunities to prevent the death of Michael O’Sullivan, a claimant with mental health conditions who committed suicide after being found capable of work. As a result, they continue to put claimants lives at risk.

Shockingly, the department have even implied that they made the correct decision in Mr O’Sullivan’s case and have failed to offer any apology for the one error they are prepared to own up to.

Fit for work was trigger
In a report that only came to light last week, thanks to the work of the Disability News Service, a coroner ruled that a finding that a claimant was fit for work was the ‘trigger’ for his suicide six months later.

Michael O’Sullivan committed suicide in September 2013. He had been suffering from anxiety and depression for a number of years and had previously been in receipt of incapacity benefit. He applied for employment and support allowance (ESA).

Following the inquest into his death in January 2014, the coroner issued a Regulation 28 report which is designed to prevent future deaths occurring in similar circumstances.

In the report the coroner stated that:

“I found that the trigger for Mr O ’Sullivan’s suicide was his recent assessment by a DWP doctor as being fit for work .”

The Coroner went on to say that:

“During the course of the inquest , the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken . In the circumstances , it is my statutory duty to report to you [the DWP]. “

The matters of concern which the coroner set out were:.

“The DWP assessing doctor (who saw Mr O ’ Sullivan for a 90 minute consultation) did not take into account the views of any of Mr O’ Sullivan’s treating doctors, saying that the ultimate decision maker would do that.

“However, the ultimate decision maker (who is not , I understand, medically qualified) did not request and so did not see any reports or letters from Mr O’Sullivan’s general practitioner (who had assessed him as being unfit for work), his psychiatrist or his clinical psychologist.”

DWP report
The DWP produced a 73 paragraph report in response to the coroner’s request. Most of it is taken up with setting out the history of the work capability assessment (WCA), explaining the current process and stressing that 100,000 assessments are carried out each month.

However, only 7 short paragraphs (which you can read at the end of this article) directly address Mr Sullivan’s death, along with a single paragraph at the end of the report.

The rest appears to be designed to cover up the numerous failings on the department’s part that led to a completely avoidable death.

First lost chance: scrutiny stage
At the start of a claim for ESA a claimant completes an ESA50 questionnaire, setting out how their condition affects them.

When an ESA50 form is received by the DWP, an Atos – since replaced by Maximus – health professional carries out a scrutiny of all the available evidence, including fit notes.

At this stage the health professional could decide that there is sufficient evidence to awarded ESA or that further medical evidence is needed before the case is progressed or that a face-to-face medical should take place.

At paragraph 28 of their report for the coroner, the DWP explain that where a claimant expresses ‘suicidal ideation’ in their ESA50 then further medical evidence should be sought. This could, for example, be from their GP, mental health nurse, consultant or other health professional.

At paragraph 53 the DWP admit that Mr O’Sullivan “expressed suicidal thoughts” in his ESA50 and go on to say:

“However, further medical evidence was not requested in line with the stated policy (outlined at paragraph 28) where the claimant has referred to suicidal ideation.”

No explanation is given for this failure, other than that:

“. . . with such large numbers of people involved in this system there will be inevitably be instances where processes are not conducted in line with the stated policy.”

And the only remedy that the DWP propose for this error that cost a man’s life is that they will “issue a reminder to staff about the guidance related to suicidal ideation that has been described in this report.”

There is not a single word of apology or remorse for this failing.

Second lost chance: face-to-face assessment
Mr O’Sullivan was then called to a face-to-face assessment. Usually this would be with a different health professional to the one who carried out the initial scrutiny of the papers.

According to the coroner’s verdict, which has not been published online.

“The doctor who assessed him on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (a former orthopaedic surgeon) concluded that he was at no significant risk by working. The assessing doctor did not ask Mr O’Sullivan if he had suicidal thoughts.”

There are three vital issues there that the DWP fail completely to admit to or discuss in their report.

Firstly the healthcare professional was not a mental health specialist but a former orthopaedic surgeon.

Did they have the necessary skills to carry out an assessment of a claimant with anxiety and depression who had been referred to his community mental health team and who had described suicidal thoughts in his ESA50?

Secondly, why on earth did the former orthopaedic surgeon not ask Mr O’Sullivan about his suicidal thoughts, as the coroner states? Did they simply not read the ESA50? Were they too embarrassed? Did they not take these thoughts seriously and dismiss them out of hand?

Crucially, we are not told what the former orthopaedic surgeon found in relation to the substantial risk regulations.

These state that where there would be a substantial risk to the claimant or someone else if they were found capable of work (or work-related activity) then they must be awarded ESA. Suicidal thoughts are a prime example of such a risk and the health professional has to say in their report whether they consider these regulations apply or not and give and give grounds for their opinion.

The DWP refer to these regulations in their report, but do not make it clear that the health professional is obliged to make findings about them. Nor do they give any hint of what findings the former orthopaedic surgeon made in relation to substantial risk.

Thirdly, when the former orthopaedic surgeon saw that this was a case involving mental health and read the ESA50, why did they not stop the assessment at that point and insist it must be postponed until further medical evidence was obtained. At the very least, why did they not seek advice from a senior medical assessor as to whether the interview should continue in the absence of further medical evidence?

We will never know the answers to these questions, because all the DWP say about that face-to-face assessment is:

“He attended a second face-to-face assessment on 13 March 2013.”

We are not even told by the DWP whether the former orthopaedic surgeon considered that Mr O’Sullivan scored sufficient point to be found incapable of work.

At the very least, the DWP should have stated in their report whether the former orthopaedic surgeon had been obliged to undertake retraining.

In fact, it appears they did not even bother to interview him or her, in spite of his part in the unnecessary death of a fellow human being.

Third lost chance: the decision
Even at this stage it was not too late to save Michael O’Sullivan’s life.

The decision maker is under a duty to consider all the evidence before reaching a decision on capacity for work. Legally, they cannot just rubber stamp the health professional’s findings.

The decision maker should have read Mr O’Sullivan’s ESA50. They should have immediately noted the suicidal thoughts in the questionnaire and the failure by Atos to obtain further medical evidence.

At that stage they should have returned the ESA85 medical report to Atos and asked for the proper procedure to be followed before a decision could be made.

Alternatively, they could have noted the suicidal thoughts, looked at the failure of the medical assessor to discuss them and concluded that the only available evidence, Mr O’Sullivan’s ESA50, showed that he met the requirements to be found at substantial risk and placed in the support group.

Why did the decision maker fail so entirely to carry out their legal duties?

We will never know, because all that the DWP say in their report is that:

“On 26 March 2013 Decision Maker decided he did not have limited capability for work.”

Again, at the very least this appears to be a decision maker who is in urgent need of retraining, because other lives may already have been lost in a similar way.

DWP believes they got it right
Astonishingly, in their report, the DWP strongly imply that even if they didn’t follow proper procedures, they came to the right decision anyway. Their response to the coroner states:

“Mr O’Sullivan subsequently claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance from March 2013, for around six months without sanction before he, unfortunately took his own life in September 2013.

“ The fact that he did not incur any sanctions during this period means that he was maintaining his obligations under the Jobseeker’s Agreement to be both available for and actively seeking employment on a weekly basis.

The implication here is clear: if Mr O’Sullivan was so unwell at the time of his WCA, how come he went six months on JSA without a sanction?

The possibility that it may have been the unbearable effort of surviving on JSA, without breaking the rules, that caused Mr O’Sullivan to take his life has clearly not crossed the collective mind of the DWP.

Inquiry needed
The DWP report admits to just one error and covers up many others in a clear attempt to mislead the coroner about the extent of the failures at every stage of the WCA system in this case.

The department also chose not to utter one word of regret, let alone apology, for the death of Michael O’Sullivan. Instead they shrug it off as just a mistake that’s bound to happen when you deal with so many cases.

There are, as a result many questions which we have suggested will never be answered.

But, in fact, there is no reason why these questions should not be answered by the DWP, except that they don’t wish to shine a spotlight on the multiple failures of an unfit system.

So, the biggest question of all is, are there any influential groups or individuals out there who care enough about the death of a claimant to begin the call for an independent inquiry into the entirely avoidable death of Michael O’Sullivan?

EXTRACT FROM THE DWP’S REPORT ON MICHAEL SULLIVAN

Mr O’Sullivan’s case
50. Mr O’Sullivan had anxiety and depression. He had been a recipient of income support (IS) on the grounds of disability since July 2000. On 30 March 2012, he was notified that the conversion phase had begun for him to see whether he would qualify for ESA.

Decision on conversion
51. He attended a face-to-face assessment on 17 August 2012. The opinion of the healthcare professional in their report was that Mr O’Sullivan did not meet any descriptors dealing with Limited Capability for work. On 13 September , the decision maker decided that Mr O’Sullivan’s IS award did not qualify for conversion to ESA and the award was stopped from 18 October.

52. Mr O’Sullivan then appealed to DWP on the approved form on the ground that he felt the questionnaire did not deal with his problems so he could not express himself. The decision of 13 September was reconsidered by a DWP Decision Maker on 28 November 2012 but not revised.

Re-application
53. Mr O’Sullivan then made a new claim for ESA in November 2012. He completed an ESA50 (claimant questionnaire) which said was being investigated by his Community Mental Health Team, and within which he expressed suicidal thoughts. However, further medical evidence was not requested in line with the stated policy (outlined at paragraph 28) where the claimant has referred to suicidal ideation.

54. He attended a second face-to-face assessment on 13 March 2013. On 26 March 2013 Decision Maker decided he did not have limited capability for work.

55 Mr O’Sullivan subsequently claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance from March 2013, for around six months without sanction before he, unfortunately took his own life in September 2013.

56. The fact that he did not incur any sanctions during this period means that he was maintaining his obligations under the Jobseeker’s Agreement to be both available for and actively seeking employment on a weekly basis.

Conclusion
73. We have noted the issues in this case and will continue to monitor our policies around assessment of people with mental health problems while we await the outcome of related litigation (discussed at paragraph 66). We will also issue a reminder to staff about the guidance related to suicidal ideation that has been described in this report.

Interview with Mr O’Sullivan’s daughter on ITV news

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from → disability political policies, politics, updates

Full Text Of John McDonnell’s Speech To Labour Conference 2015

September 28, 2015
by

In which he mentioned Michael O’Sullvan’s case and family.

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from → disability political policies, politics, speeches

Why Coronation Street’s Izzy Armstrong Held Up An Adult Nappy At Labour Conference 2015

September 28, 2015
by

Coronation Street star Cherylee Houston brandished an incontinence pad as she dramatically hit out at Tory cuts yesterday(SUN).

The actress who plays headstrong factory machinist Izzy Armstrong shocked activists at Labour’s annual conference when she produced the “adult nappy” at the Real Britain fringe, hosted by the Mirror and the Unite union.

“Does anybody need the loo? Or did you all go before you came in?” she asked the packed meeting.

“Because they have come up with a solution; they are saying that we are to wear these,” she revealed, holding up the pants.

There were gasps of horror and some delegates wept as Cherrylee outlined the indignity suffered by those targeted.

“This is a suggestion for a solution to independence. You’ve got to remember, you’re not incontinent. This is just purely a way to save money,” she told the Brighton meeting.

Councils are being forced to slash support because of Government funding cuts.

And town halls are increasingly suggesting disabled people who are not incontinent use the pads to “give them more independence” said the TV star, who uses a wheelchair because she has the rare tissue disorder Ehlers Danlos Type III hypermobility type.

The humiliating practice first hit the headlines in 2011 when the Supreme Court turned down the appeal of a disabled ex-ballerina for an overnight carer as “shameful”.

Elaine McDonald, then 68, was not incontinent but had to use incontinence pads overnight because her council refused to pay for a nighttime carer to take her to the toilet.

 

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from → disability political policies, politics

Watch The Moment Jeremy Corbyn Freed A Trapped Wheelchair User At Labour Conference 2015

September 28, 2015
by

This is why disabled people and carers love Jeremy Corbyn!

 

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from → Fun Stuff, videos

Joanne Milne Takes Beauty Spot Tour Before She Loses Her Sight

September 28, 2015
by

Last year Joanne Milne became an internet sensation when footage of her hearing for the first time was posted on YouTube. But, cruelly, she is now slowly losing her sight because of a rare disorder. To build up a visual memory bank, she has taken a tour of three beauty spots in her native North East that were suggested to her by BBC radio listeners.

“It’s like a tunnel which is unfortunately closing in and in,” says Joanne Milne of the gradual loss of her eyesight.

More than a year ago Ms Milne, who was born deaf, was fitted with cochlear implants and heard for the first time at the age of 39 – footage of her tears of emotion on hearing a nurse read to her went viral.

But she has known for some time now that she is going blind due to a disorder called Usher syndrome, although she is totally accepting of her fate.

Determined to be positive, she is trying to build up a bank of memories for when the inevitable happens.

Ms Milne, from Gateshead, spends hours looking at old photos of her family, trying to “imprint” them on her memory.

“I can see these photographs perfectly, the colours and the faces, but I can’t see my fingers wiggling in front of my face,” she says matter-of-factly, without a trace of self-pity.

“This picture is of me in a bonnet as a baby with my father and elder sister, and when I close my eyes I can see this picture.

“It does seem very, very cruel but the positive thing I can say about that is because of the lack of my senses, it makes me appreciate life and admire a view for that little bit longer.

“It’s probably the worst thing imaginable for someone who is deaf to be told they are going blind.

“I still have some sight and while I have that sight I’m going to grab every opportunity and live every day like my last.”

Recently BBC Newcastle asked listeners to suggest places for the 40-year-old to visit to help her mission to build up a memory bank of images.

Hundreds responded and Ms Milne, who says she feels “overwhelmed” that so many people care, chose three places she had never been to.

First stop was to see radio listener Jane Lancaster, who nominated Low Newton beach, Newton Point, on the Northumberland coast.

Asking Ms Milne to close her eyes, she led her to her favourite coast in all its rocky splendour with views of 14th Century Dunstanburgh Castle.

Ms Lancaster said: “Every time I look at this view my heart skips a beat. The castle leads your eye in and the rocks lead it out to the sea.”

Ms Milne describes the view as “breathtaking”, adding: “I felt like a child on Christmas morning, not being allowed to open my eyes for a moment.”

Next on the list was High Force waterfall in the heart of the Durham Dales.

Ms Milne sits on rocks listening to the torrent of water. She says: “I feel very emotional – it’s not just about what I can see but what I can hear, too. It’s noisy but it’s peaceful, if you know what I mean.”

Despite living only an hour’s drive away, Ms Milne had never been to the Lake District, which attracts millions of visitors a year.

For her final destination she chose a boat trip on the tranquil waters of Ullswater, the region’s second largest lake.

Ms Milne takes several minutes to find the words to describe the view.

“It doesn’t matter which direction I look, every view is beautiful and the skyline is so dramatic. I’ve now got a picture of the Lake District in my memory and the sound of this boat and it’s absolutely magical.

“I will never forget this for the rest of my life. It has also been very touching because it’s about places the general public has nominated for me.”

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from → DisAbled Challengers

Labour Councillor Chris Furlong Defends Tweet Comparing IDS To Hitler

September 28, 2015
by

North Middleton councillor Chris Furlong has defended a tweet he posted that compared the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith to Hitler.

The Labour councillor tweeted a picture of Hitler above one of Mr Duncan Smith, implying that the Conservatives were responsible for the deaths of more disabled people than the Nazi party leader.

The tweet referred to the ‘killing of 70,000 disabled people’ by Nazis alongside a reference to ‘81,040 disabled people’ having died in just over two years under the Conservative government.

Speaking to Rochdale Online, Councillor Furlong defended posting the tweet and said: “I posted the tweet because people are dying because of policies instigated by Iain Duncan Smith and the mainstream media is ignoring it. I have been campaigning on these issues for a while now but, for some reason, the mainstream media is choosing to ignore it.

“I am highlighting the government’s figures and used the tweet to give a historical comparison. If you look back through Twitter, you will see a lot of disabled people are supporting me in what I said.”

It is understood that the matter has now been referred to the Labour Party to investigate.

Councillor Ashley Dearnley, Leader of the Conservative Group in Rochdale, said: “The remarks are appalling and are totally unacceptable. I would expect the Labour Party to withdraw his whip. If the new Labour leader has anything about him, he will make sure he is removed from the Labour party.

“I know if David Cameron heard that any of his councillors made remarks comparing people to Hitler, then David Cameron would make sure that they were removed from the Conservative party. If Corbyn has any metal about him, his will ensure that this happens.”

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from → disability political policies, politics

Crowdsourcing A Replacement For The WCA

September 28, 2015
by

An invitation from Ekklesia:

Do you have a mental or physical health condition? I am pleased to be able to invite you to help to design a new system for sickness benefits that is informed by disabled people and their real-life barriers to work.

This survey is part of a project to design a replacement for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). We consider the WCA to be too flawed and broken to be satisfactorily fixed. It needs replacing and the people best able to do this are those who are affected by long term illness.

The survey is designed for people with long-term illness to contribute their views on what affects their ability to find and keep work, what support they need and what a proper assessment process should look like.

Our survey results will be analysed and written up into a report that will present an alternative to ESA and the WCA, based on the majority views given in this survey.

The survey consists of thirty questions, mostly multiple choice, and you can save your progress and return to where you left off.

Give us your views about what a replacement to ESA and the WCA should look like here: http://tinyurl.com/wcasurvey

Read more about the project, and some guidance notes, here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/22113

Download the PDF (Adobe Acrobat) or Word versions of the survey at the foot of this page (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/esawcasurvey) if you prefer to read it through before completing online here, or in order to complete on paper.

I am pleased to be working with Ekklesia and to be collaborating with grassroots disability groups on this project. I have been working on issues relating to disability and social security for over four years, since I first became ill myself. Prior to becoming ill, I was at university studying for a PhD, but I was unable to sustain this work.

Most of my work in the last four years has centred on ESA and th WCA, investigating the multiple flaws in the WCA and studying how other countries assess incapacity benefits.

Founded in 2002, Ekklesia is a public policy think-tank that explores the changing nature of the relationship between politics and beliefs in a plural world. It is committed to social justice, peacemaking, environmental sustainability and new economy – and especially to fresh ways of policy making which start with, and are accountable to, people living at the sharp end of public and political decision making.

We are grateful to the Passionist Small Grants Fund for supporting this project financially.

Thank you for taking part in this project, and/or for promoting the survey to others you know. Together we can make a difference!

* More on disability issues from Ekklesia: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/disability

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from → disability political policies, politics

Heriott Watt University Work Capability Assessment Project

September 26, 2015
by

With thanks to Gail Ward for sharing this information on Facebook.

We are researchers from Heriot-Watt University looking to talk to people in Scotland with a mental health condition who have undertaken the Work Capabilities Assessment (WCA) and have been declared fit for work or have joined the Work-Related Activity Group (WRAG).

We would like to talk to you, for about an hour, about your experiences of looking and preparing for work. We are flexible about time and location and will compensate all participants with a £20 supermarket voucher. 

Please contact Gavin Maclean by email (gm218@hw.ac.uk) or Abigail Marks by phone (01314513610) for more information.

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from → disability political policies, polls, publicity

Danika Smith Has Now Been Sent Her ESA50 Form

September 25, 2015
by

Same Difference sincerely hopes that after reading the contents of Danika’s ESA50, the DWP will realise that it is a waste of ink and paper, and that Danika and others like her are genuinely unable to work and fully entitled to benefits.

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from → disability political policies, mainstream madness, politics, updates

A lose-lose situation: the DWP’s Catch 22.

September 25, 2015
by

Emsy's avatarEmsyBlog

2015-09-23 13.05.22Last time I wrote about having my Personal Independence Payment assessment I said it felt like an exam I had to pass. As it turns out, this time I seem to have failed.

Yep, after doing my renewal application for my PIP, I was declined. I was half expecting this anyway but it still came as a shock. So now comes the mandatory reconsideration period and the appeals process. I’ve also requested a copy of my assessment to see if it’s as comedic as the last one was.

As an ill person, the expectations the DWP have of me are a bit confusing. I’m told that in order to be a productive member of society I have to work, that working is the best option for everyone and that their aim is to get everyone working. Yet, as soon as I try and be productive and proactive, I’m…

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from → disability political policies, politics

DWP Blacklists Disabled Journalist Over His Research Into Impact Of Welfare Reforms

September 25, 2015
by

 

From today’s National.

DISABLED journalist John Pring, who uncovered the first suicide case directly linked to the UK Government’s welfare cuts this week, has been blacklisted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over his in-depth investigations.

The editor of Disability News Service (DNS), launched in April 2009 to probe issues that affect the lives of disabled people, says the DWP has stopped answering any of his questions.

The news service focuses on issues such as discrimination, equality, independent living, benefits, poverty and human rights, but also covers arts, culture and sport.

Pring worked for months gathering evidence to back up his story that, for the first time, a coroner had blamed the death of mentally disabled Michael O’Sullivan on his recent work capability assessments.

He managed to get hands on coroner Mary Hassell’s determination into his suicide, her Prevention of Future Deaths report sent to the DWP calling for action to be taken, as well as the DWP’s response.

Hassell found that the “trigger” for the suicide was “his recent assessment by a DWP doctor as being fit for work”.

The coroner’s verdict stated: “The anxiety and depression were long-term problems, but the intense anxiety that triggered his suicide was caused by his recent assessment by the DWP as being fit for work, and his view of the likely consequences of that.”

Scottish disability rights campaigners at the Black Triangle, who hope Pring’s revelations will be a turning point in the fight against the welfare cuts, said numerous disability groups rely on the Disability News Service to keep them informed and by refusing to communicate with Pring, the DWP was refusing to communicate with millions of disabled people.

Campaign manager John McArdle said: “John Pring has done more than any other journalist to expose the scandal of these deaths and hold the DWP to account.

“The actions of the DWP are counter to transparent government and freedom of the press, upon which a functioning democracy rely. We consider the actions of the DWP to be highly offensive and discriminatory.”

The DWP’s press office ceased to deal with DNS and says it will no longer respond to it as a bona fide news organisation.

When Pring asked for a comment on the news that the Information Commissioner in England was to probe the DWP’s refusal to publish details of internal reviews of benefit-related deaths, a civil servant told him he would not get one.

Their refusal to communicate with him appears to have been triggered by stories published by DNS that left out comments from the Government. Pring says this is because press officers missed deadlines, the DWP says he should publish corrections.

Pring has relentlessly highlighted problems with Work and Pensions minister Iain Duncan Smith’s flagship Universal Credit programme and revealed that the DWP had secretly investigated more than 60 deaths of benefit claimants since 2012, without publishing the findings or the more than 30 resulting recommendations for change.

The DNS has also embarrassed disability minister Mark Harper, running stories about the lack of wheelchair access at some disability assessment centres, as well as at his own constituency office, as Harper was presenting awards for accessibility.

Same Difference wishes to repeat our full support of John Pring in this matter.

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from → disability political policies, mainstream madness, politics

Disability Rights Campaigners Call On MSPs To Probe Michael O’Sullivan Case

September 25, 2015
by

DISABILITY rights campaigners are calling on Scottish ministers to condemn the General Medical Council (GMC) over its failure to probe the death of a disabled man who took his own life after being found fit for work.

Patient-led campaign group the Black Triangle said it could “see no reason” why the Scottish Government could not launch an immediate inquiry into the conduct of the independent regulator.

Details of a coroner’s report, which ruled that father-of-two Michael O’Sullivan died as a direct result of being found fit for work by the UK Government’s disability assessors, was exposed by the Disability News Service investigative journalist John Pring earlier this week.

In the report to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the coroner for inner north London demanded it take action to prevent further deaths after concluding the “trigger” for O’Sullivan’s suicide was his fit-for-work assessment.

The 60-year-old from north London was moved from Employment Support on to Jobseeker’s Allowance after 10 years despite providing reports from three doctors, including his GP, stating that he had long-term depression and agoraphobia and was unable to work. He killed himself at his home on September 24, 2013.

His daughter Anne-Marie said her father should never have been ruled fit to work.

The loss or reduction of benefits have previously been cited by coroners as a factor in deaths and suicides of claimants.

However, this is the first time the work capability assessment (WCA) process has been blamed directly for a death.

In a document marked “sensitive”, the coroner Mary Hassell told the DWP she had concluded that “during the course of the inquest, the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concerns. In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken”.

At an inquest last year, Hassell said O’Sullivan had been suffering from long-term anxiety and depression, “but the intense anxiety which triggered his suicide was caused by his recent assessment by the Department of Work and Pensions as being fit for work and his view of the likely consequences of that”.

Earlier this week Black Triangle campaigners urged the GMC, which helps to protect patients, to “step into the breach” over O’Sullivan’s death and the way disabled patients were being treated by the Conservative Government’s welfare regime.

The Atos Healthcare-employed doctor assessing O’Sullivan for the DWP, a former orthopaedic surgeon, had not taken the same view as other doctors treating him that he was not fit for work. Black Triangle said it was “incumbent” upon the GMC to look into the case despite no name being released in the documentation.

However, a GMC spokeswoman said: “If we don’t have a name then we cannot investigate.”

And she added that even if the council was investigating the doctor, it could not confirm this for legal reasons.

John McArdle of Black Triangle said the GMC’s chairman Professor Terrence Stephenson should be “summoned” before the Scottish Parliament’s health and reform committee for questioning.

He added: “I hope Scottish ministers will recognise and condemn the GMC’s failure now and in the past to conduct transparent investigations and lack of public accountability.

“Justice is being denied to disabled people by the GMC as it currently stands.

“We would like to see Professor Terrence Stephenson summoned before the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Welfare Reform committees for questioning and if the GMC is not fit for purpose the Scottish Government must act.

“Since health is a devolved matter, I see no reason why the Scottish Government shouldn’t launch an immediate inquiry into the conduct of this ‘regulator’ in Scotland and its abject failure to protect patients from the abuses of our fundamental human and patients’ rights by doctors working for DWP-Maximus. Furthermore, it is within the competence of the Scottish Government to replace the GMC as regulator of the profession with a Scottish Government quasi-judicial medical investigatory and regulatory body set up under the Scottish Minister for Justice’s department.

“The GMC is utterly negligent and unfit for purpose. It seems only to exist to support its bureaucratic infrastructure and fat salaries. It seems to persecute innocent doctors and let grossly negligent ones get away with murder. What this effectively means is that DWP Atos now Maximus doctors are really not properly regulated and neither are the assessment centres. This in itself is scandalous.”

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from → disability political policies, politics, updates

I Look Awkward When I Run- But Do People Ever Wonder Why?

September 25, 2015
by

A beautiful article from Jackie Scully from the Guardian’s running blog.

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#Refugee Girl With CP Describes Her Journey Across Europe

September 25, 2015
by

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has warned that the migration crisis is far from being resolved despite the measures agreed by EU leaders to help Syrian refugees still in the Middle East.

The UN Refugee Agency and the World Food Programme will receive at least €1bn (£730m) to provide more support for those in need.

In the past week our special correspondent Fergal Keane has followed one 16-year-old, Noujain Mustaffa, who has travelled thousands of miles from Syria to Germany, where she is now applying for asylum.

Readers, I would like to think that this was Noujain. She didn’t speak in that report and her name wasn’t mentioned in it. But readers, either way, the sentiments of that post remain my opinions.

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from → DisAbility in the News

Michael O’Sullivan Case Must Be Turning Point In Cuts Fight, Says SNP MP

September 25, 2015
by
DISABLED rights campaigning MP Natalie McGarry is planning to hold a conference of disability groups in a bid to fight the Tory’s cruel welfare cuts which are killing vulnerable people.

Westminster’s shadow SNP spokesperson for disabilities insisted the shocking case of a disabled man, who took his own life after being deemed fit for work by Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare regime, must be the turning point in the fight against cuts.

The UK Government’s welfare reforms have, for the first time, officially been blamed for triggering the death of disability benefit claimant Michael O’Sullivan in a coroner’s report.

The report sparked fury among Scottish disability rights campaigners and Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil, who say this is “the most damning evidence yet” which proves that the benefit reforms are killing people.

Now McGarry is stepping up the pressure on the Tories by organising a conference of disability organisations in a bid to put forward a non-political united position on welfare reform.

She also also been invited to a meeting being set up by the disability campaign group Black Triangle at Westminster over the death of O’Sullivan.

McGarry said O’Sullivan’s death is the tip of the iceberg because 90 people a month have died after having work capability assessments (WCA).

She said: “The DWP rules are the same for everybody across the UK, except where the Scottish Government has mitigated or made different decisions, but that doesn’t change the core policy so WCA is carried out in the same way whether you are in London or Glasgow.

“You would hope this ruling by the coroner would be the turning point but this Government is heartless.

“We still don’t know how many people have died through suicide or as part of the condition they had within weeks of being found fit for work.

“The UK Government has not been forthcoming on those figures and we have only just got the information that 90 people found fit for work die every month within weeks of work capability assessments.

“We haven’t got any breakdown of what that means so this is the first time a direct link has been made officially between WCA and suicide.

“We need to know the real figures, how many other families are suffering from the same circumstances and why has it gone so wrong that 90 people a month are dying within weeks of being found fit for work. It is utterly appalling.

“There is an absolute callousness to it. The Tory Government tried to hide these figures for months until they were forced by the Information Commissioner to release them. They know how much damage they are doing to people’s lives and they want to keep everyone in the dark so they don’t ask questions.

“It took months of Parliamentary pressure from the SNP and Labour asking about these figures and involving the Commissioner before they would consider releasing them so you wonder what other basic crimes against humanity have been committed under the guise of WCA that we still don’t know about and we don’t have the information about.”

The O’Sullivan case was exposed by the Disability News Service which focuses on issues such as discrimination, equality, independent living, benefits, poverty and human rights.

McGarry said she would be happy to attend a meeting with Black Triangle in a bid to put more pressure on the UK Government to stop the reforms.

She added: “All we can do is keep pressing them on questions, keep pushing in the Chamber and we are going to try to get an adjournment debate. We had a Westminster Hall debate but they are hopelessly devoted to the current strategy.

“I am trying to meet with the minister and organise a conference of disability organisations across the UK so that we can put forward a united position on welfare reform that goes beyond being party political.”

4 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, updates

Specially designed powerboat puts wheelchair users in the driving seat on Cornwall’s coastal waters

September 24, 2015
by

A press release:

 

Mylor Sailability Coulam Wheelyboat V20 launch

The launch of Mylor Sailability’s brand new wheelchair accessible boat, the Coulam Wheelyboat V20, will take place at Mylor Sailing School on the River Fal estuary in Cornwall on Saturday 3 October. Reaching speeds of over 30mph the specially designed Wheelyboat will be launched by guest of honour Peter Norfolk MBE, two times gold-winning Paralympian tennis player and GB flagbearer at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Sailing and boating are activities that most disabled people can participate in effectively given the right access, facilities and opportunities. Tracey Boyne, owner of Mylor Sailing School, recognised a significant lack of disabled access on local waters in Cornwall and 15 months ago Mylor Sailability was established to provide outdoor waterborne activities for people with impaired mobility and special educational needs.

Nominated for a National Award with the County Sports Partnership at Cornwall County Council for best new project, the charity has been successful in securing a Sport England Inspired Facilities grant of £48k for a new building, pontoon and hoist, as well as a grant in conjunction with Age UK to encourage people with disabilities over the age of 50 into sailing. The charity now helps hundreds of people from all over Cornwall with a wide range of disabilities take part in sailing.

The Wheelyboat Trustis a national charity and has been funding the design and build of unique disabled access boats for more than 30 years. The seven different models of Wheelyboats provide disabled people with the opportunity and freedom to enjoy water-based activities all over the UK, for sport, wildlife watching, recreation, education or rehabilitation purposes. The specially designed Wheelyboats are simple to board via their roll-on, roll-off bow ramps and their level deck provides access to every corner of the boat including the helm, overcoming practical difficulties and providing disabled users with independence to make the entire water accessible.

The Coulam Wheelyboat V20 is The Wheelyboat Trust’s latest model and is the most important development since the launch of the original Wheelyboat more than 30 years ago.  As well as the most versatile Wheelyboat so far, it is the first high-performance craft that The Wheelyboat Trust has designed, capable of speeds in excess of 30mph.  Seating up to ten people including six wheelchair users, it will provide Mylor Sailability with its first wheelchair accessible powered craft and will fulfil a variety of essential roles from pleasure cruiser and powerboat tuition to support, safety and rescue.  Its drive-from-wheelchair helm will enable disabled people to experience driving the boat themselves and attain recognised qualifications such as Powerboat level 1 and 2 certificates and Powerboat Instructor. The Wheelyboat project for Mylor Sailability cost £27,000 funded in large part by donations raised by the Trust.

Andy Beadsley, Director of The Wheelyboat Trust says, “One of the aims of The Wheelyboat Trust is to have as many Wheelyboats throughout the UK as possible, so that no-one with impaired mobility should feel excluded from getting out on the water. We are therefore delighted to launch a Coulam Wheelyboat V20 in Cornwall and hope that it encourages more disabled people to experience the fun and thrill of powerboating.”

Tracey Boyne, owner of Mylor Sailability added, “Mylor Sailability is the only coastal Sailability centre in Cornwall and our new Wheelyboat will give our service users even more opportunities to experience the water and learn new skills. We are very grateful to The Wheelyboat Trust for their help in funding the acquisition of this fantastic boat.”

-Ends-

 

1 Comment
from → publicity

Paralysed Man Walks Using Brain Reading Device

September 24, 2015
by

A paralysed man has regained some control over his legs using a device that reads his brain, scientists say.

Brainwaves were interpreted by a computer, which then controlled the electrical stimulation of his leg muscles.

The US study, in the Journal of Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation, showed he was able to walk just under four metres with support.

Experts said maintaining balance was an issue that needed to be addressed.

A spinal cord injury prevents the flow of messages from the brain. However, the brain is still able to create messages and the legs are still capable of receiving them.

The researchers at the University of California, Irvine, used a brain-computer interface to bypass the damage in a man who had been paralysed for five years.

An electroencephalogram (EEG) cap read the activity of the man’s brain and his initial training was to control a virtual person or avatar in a computer game.

‘Interesting study’

Electrodes were then placed on leg muscles and the patient began training to move his own legs.

When he thinks of walking then the muscles are simulated to alternately move the right and left legs until he stops thinking about walking.

One of the researchers, Dr An Do, said: “We showed that you can restore intuitive, brain-controlled walking after a complete spinal cord injury.

“This non-invasive system for leg muscle stimulation is a promising method and is an advance of our current brain-controlled systems that use virtual reality or a robotic exoskeleton.”

Dr Mark Bacon, from the charity Spinal Research, told the BBC: “This is an interesting early-stage study.

“What makes this interesting is the move out of the virtual realm by activating lower-limb muscles in a walking pattern.

“In that regard they have been successful. However, independent over-ground walking is still some way off, not least because the issue of maintaining balance hasn’t yet been addressed.”

4 Comments
from → progress

Allegations Of Social Cleansing As Disabled Man Set To Be Evicted From Sweets Way Estate

September 24, 2015
by

A disabled man sat in his barricaded home last night and told of his despair at losing a High Court case, which means he can now be evicted without notice from his north London home to make way for a redevelopment dubbed as “social cleansing” by protesters.

Mostafa Aliverdipour, 49, who walks with a stick and occasionally uses a wheelchair, said he was “upset, angry and more nervous than words can say” about his imminent eviction from the Sweets Way estate in Whetstone, Barnet, the site of a long protest by activists to prevent its redevelopment, and a cause celebre of the comedian Russell Brand. He is the last of 140 private and social housing tenants who are being moved out.

Mr Aliverdipour said:  “The poor are being made to move out so the rich can move in. It’s not human.”

Sweets Way was a scene of disorder yesterday as High Court Enforcement officers, backed by police, removed dozens of squatters.

Footage filmed yesterday afternoon showed protesters standing on roofs being removed with cherry pickers. A video on social media showed one being carried away by six High Court Enforcement officers. As the evictions took place Mr Aliverdipour lost his case in the High Court that means he has no right to notice of eviction. Later as he spoke to The Independent protesters manned barricades of furniture, chipboard and shopping trolleys outside.

Conflict between the protesters and bailiffs acting on behalf of Annington Property Ltd seemed inevitable, and Mr Aliverdipour’s son Ash, 23, said last night: “We are ready to do whatever we have to to resist this eviction.”

Samir Dathi, 37, one of those on the barricade, said: “When you evict an entire housing estate, it’s social cleansing: what else can you call it?” The battle for Sweets Way began in July last year, when residents were told they would have to move because Annington had permission to build 288 homes.

As they vacated their homes this year, activists moved to protest. They claimed that with Barnet Council defining “affordable” as up to 80 per cent of market rents, the 59 “affordable” units would be beyond the reach of most, including many of those who lived there. Mr Aliverdipour, who has a damaged spine caused by lifting patients as a healthcare assistant and a car crash, was given a home on the estate by Barnet Council last November.

This was supposed to be temporary but, he claims: “Barnet have not offered me anything appropriate. They have offered me a three-floor home which would be inaccessible for me.”

Mr Aliverdipour, who receives disability living allowance and lives with his daughter Atena, five, and sons Ash, 23 and Hoss, 21, said: “I don’t know where I can go after this. I am very nervous.”

Annington has argued that it could have kept the estate empty after the MoD ceased using it to house Armed Forces personnel. Instead, it claims, it allowed the estate to be used by social housing tenants for the six years before it began redevelopment “to help solve the housing shortage”.

It says that after winning planning permission for the new development, it gave tenants far longer than the six-month notice required by law, and claims it cannot be held responsible for how “affordable housing” is defined.

3 Comments
from → council craziness, disability political policies, mainstream madness, politics, updates

As Kirklees Claimants Sent To Manchester For PIP Assessments, Advocates Wonder If ATOS Understand The Geography Of West Yorkshire

September 24, 2015
by

Long-term disabled benefits claimants from Kirklees are being sent as far as Manchester to judge whether they are fit for work.

Atos, which carries out benefits claimant assessments on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), has been criticised by patients’ champion Healthwatch Kirklees for failing to open an assessment centre in Kirklees.

Claimants of Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which replace Disability Living Allowance, must instead attend assessment centres in Halifax, Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield – and sometimes Manchester – to see if they must return to work.

Healthwatch Kirklees advisor Shabana Ali, said: “We first heard these stories in carers groups. When we looked harder we found that the backlog in the assessment system means that local people are being asked to travel as far as Manchester for their assessments, with the system automatically offering appointments that were outside the 90-minute guidelines issued by the DWP.”

Healthwatch Kirklees director, Rory Deighton, said it was ‘hard to understand’ why Atos had not opened an centre in a borough with 440,000 residents.

Mr Deighton said: “It’s hard to understand why there is not an assessment centre provided for the 440,000 people in Kirklees.

“We know that there are two centres in Leeds, two in Bradford and two in Wakefield, and can only assume that Atos as a company don’t understand the geography of West Yorkshire.”

He added: “Atos’s failure to provide a centre for PIP assessment is having a significant impact on some of the most vulnerable members of our community.

“We’ve spoken to Atos, who have said that they have no plans to open a centre in Kirklees. We’re challenging that, by working with Dewsbury MP and member of the Health Select Committee Paula Sherriff and local carers’ groups.”

Atos said it had plans for another centre in Bradford, near the Kirklees boundary.

The company added claimants were no longer waiting long periods for their assessments.

An Atos spokesperson said: “We try to make coming to an assessment as easy as possible as we understand it can be a stressful time for people.

“We recommend that people, who will have issues in getting to a centre, give us a call to discuss this so we can make an alternative arrangement.

“We do offer different locations, home consultations and we do reimburse taxi journeys for those who need it.”

3 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

Petition Calling For A National Database Of Disabled People Unfit For Assessment

September 24, 2015
by

Readers, I’m not sure about the language used in this petition, but I agree with its sentiment, so I signed it anyway.

A National Database should be put in place to stop Life Long Disablity sufferers being hounded by the DWP and ATOS. Severley disabled people, some with terminal illnesses, are called on the phone, recieve letters and are threatened that they will lose their benefits by inexperienced and often un-caring staff put in place by the UK Government. This causes stress for them and their families, stress that they dont need. These people will never be able to work, ever. So why put them through the stress when they can look at a database and see this.

Donna Palfrey called for such a database just a few days ago, a call I have fully supported for some time.

3 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

IMPORTANT Advice For Relatives Of “Wrongly” Deceased Benefit Clamants

September 23, 2015
by

Respected blogger Mike Sivier reminds readers of Vox Political today that Catalina Devandas Aguilar, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, is expected to visit the UK in the coming months to spearhead an inquiry into claims that Britain is guilty of ‘grave or systematic violations’ of the rights of the disabled.

He strongly urges anyone who feels they have lost a family member due to a poor Work Capability Assessment result to contribute to the upcoming inquiry.

He informs readers, very importantly, that anyone who feels they have lost a family member as a result of a wrong WCA result is entitled to be given a copy of the deceased’s full DWP and Work Capability Assessment (WCA) files, and request sight of the Coroner’s report from HM Coroner, not from the DWP.

He provides the following address to send these documents to, along with covering letters of explanation:

United Nations Human Rights
Jorge Araya
Secretary of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Groups in Focus Section
Human Rights Treaties Division
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
OHCHR-Palais des Nations,
8-14 Avenue de la Paix,
CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland.

E-mail: jaraya@ohchr.org

As Mike Sivier puts it, this won’t bring anybody’s relative back, but it could help prevent the loss of thousands more.

Same Difference strongly encourages sharing of this post, in the hope that it will reach as many relatives as possible.

2 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

NEW SERVICE LAUNCHED TO SUPPORT TEACHERS OF BLIND LEARNERS

September 23, 2015
by

A press release:

Scotland’s largest visual impairment organisation will today launch a new service to support teachers in mainstream schools who have visually impaired children in their classroom.

The Royal Blind Learning Hub will provide training, support, advice and workshops to all those involved in the education of visually impaired children and young people across Scotland.

The support delivered will be face to face, through training events and seminars and through online learning.

An online learning platform is being developed at www.royalblind.org/learninghub providing free educational resources about teaching blind children and young people. A new series of How To videos gives brief tips on topics like how to use a Brailler, on-body signing, guiding a blind pupil and making sensory stories.

The new service expands on the outreach support that the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh has been providing to teachers in mainstream schools over the last few years.

Sally Paterson, Royal Blind Learning Hub Manager said:

“The advice and support offered by the Royal Blind Learning Hub will focus on the key skills required by children and young people with visual impairment in order to access the curriculum. Each child’s visual impairment is different and they require tailored solutions that help them as an individual. We would encourage any teacher working with a blind child to get in touch.”

There are an estimated 2,000 children in Scotland with visual impairment, and they are generally taught in mainstream schools.

The Royal Blind Learning Hub is being launched at the Scottish Learning Festival at stand F15. Royal Blind staff will be available to demonstrate the online learning platform and to talk to educators about the support that will be available.

For further information please contact:

Davina Shiell, Marketing Manager, 07713 987797, davina.shiell@royalblind.org

2 Comments
from → progress, publicity

VisitEngland Launches Campaign To Make Tourist Attractions Accessible

September 23, 2015
by

VisitEngland, the Government-backed tourism board, has launched a campaign to encourage businesses to tap into the £12.1bn market for disabled travellers.

The organisation is working with 56 English organisations, from the Roman Army Museum near Hadrian’s Wall to the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham, through the Government’s Access For All programme, to ensure that they are kitted out with the right physical facilities and information to be classed as “accessible”.

Disabled travellers and their companions are a fast-growing segment of UK tourism, with their spend rising 33pc over four years.

Overnight trips by disabled travellers are also up 19pc; around 20 of the businesses involved in VisitEngland’s Access for All project offer accommodation.

VisitEngland’s chief executive, James Berresford, said: “Providing better access for disabled visitors is not just a social imperative, it drives money into the economy.

“We have a historic and well-developed tourism industry in this country but this means it requires adjustment and investment to change the product. Some of the sites, like the Roman Army Museum have been there for thousands of years, so providing access is not easy.”

New research from the body has broken down the accessibility spend by region, and found that as much as £65m is spent in Northumberland by disabled visitors, and £60m in Kent.

The campaign has received £90,000 from the European Commission, and the same again in funding from Visit­England. “It’s a relatively modest campaign but it’s clearly targeted,” Mr Berresford said.

The cash is not being spent on physical infrastructure but campaign marketing and training. It comes after a successful pilot in 2013, which saw a handful of businesses in Bath, Leicestershire, Newcastle, Gateshead and Brighton upgrade their sites to welcome disabled visitors.

Other attractions that have boosted their accessibility credentials include Chatsworth House in the Peak District; Lincoln Cathedral; and Brighton & Hove Buses, which has made 100pc of its fleet accessible to wheelchair users.

Last year, a survey commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions found that nearly two thirds of the UK’s top attractions were not fully accessible for wheelchair users.

In June this year, Srin Madipalli and Martyn Sibley, who both have spinal muscular atrophy and use a motorised wheelchair, founded Accomable, an online platform to help people with a disability find accessible holidays.

“Our vision is to provide an efficient, one-stop shop, so anyone with a mobility problem or disability can enjoy travel in the UK and abroad,” said Oxford MBA alumnus Mr Madipalli.

Under the Equality Act 2010, tourism businesses must take “reasonable” steps to address barriers that impede disabled people.

1 Comment
from → Fun Stuff

Daughter Of Michael O’Sullivan Warns Many More Will Die

September 23, 2015
by

The daughter of a man with severe depression who killed himself after having been  declared fit for work says more people will die unless the Government changes the way benefits are assessed.

The Independent reported earlier this week how a coroner found that Michael O’Sullivan, 60, took his life as a direct result of being found “fit to work” by the Government’s outsourced disability assessors. The north Londoner had his disability benefits removed, despite three doctors saying he suffered from recurrent depression and his GP certifying him as unable to work.

His daughter, Anne-Marie O’Sullivan, says the way assessors ignored the expert advice of treating clinicians was behind her father’s death.

“His own GP told us he felt impotent because, despite what they said, their decision was overridden by the DWP, by the agency they employed to run these assessments, which don’t work and they have to stop,” she told ITV News. “If they continue to assess people the way they assessed Dad, we’ll continue to lose lives. Vulnerable people need support and we should be able to give them that support, we shouldn’t just let them fall by the wayside.”

Mr O’Sullivan had a long history of debilitating mental illness, including fear of being outdoors. His daughter said this meant the extra pressure of having his benefits taken away was overwhelming: “He couldn’t cope. The pressure was too much. He was a sensitive soul anyway. It was too much of a burden and he just buckled under that pressure.

“This could have been avoided … it haunts us. Our life changed the day he left. Everything changed forever.”

Mr O’Sullivan had been on a waiting list for therapy. His daughter recalled: “Dad was under the care of his GP for many years. He also had a team of psychiatrists and psychologists and was on a waiting list to start talking therapy. He actually got to the top of the waiting list the day after his funeral and his doctors were doing everything they could to support him, but even they felt helpless, useless.”

Nearly 90 people died every month between 2011 and 2014 after they had been declared fit for work after undergoing a work capability assessment, government figures show.

Mr O’Sullivan’s suicide is believed to be the first that a coroner has explicitly blamed on the welfare reforms. Mary Hassell, the senior coroner for inner north London, wrote to the DWP about Mr O’Sullivan’s case, saying she believed there was a risk of similar deaths and demanding preventative action.

Although he died in 2013, the case has only just come to light. In a formal finding following an inquest in January last year, Ms Hassell said: “[His] anxiety and depression were long-term problems, but the intense anxiety that triggered his suicide was caused by his recent assessment by the [DWP] as being fit for work, and his view of the likely consequences of that.”

A DWP spokeswoman said: “Suicide is a tragic and complex issue and we take these matters extremely seriously.

“Following reforms to the work capability assessment, which was introduced in 2008, people are getting more tailored support to return to work instead of being written off on long-term sickness benefits as happened too often in the past.”

5 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, tributes, updates

Black Triangle Call For GMC To Investigate In Michael O’Sullivan DWP Case

September 23, 2015
by

SCOTTISH disability rights campaigners are calling on the General Medical Council (GMC) to “step into the breach” over the death of a disabled man who took his own life after being deemed fit for work under Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare regime.

Last week The National exclusively revealed that the UK Government’s reforms had, for the first time, officially been blamed for his death after a coroner found that the “trigger” for his suicide was “his recent assessment by a Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) doctor as being fit for work”.

Michael O’Sullivan, a 60-year-old father with serious mental health problems, killed himself after being hounded back to work by the DWP.

His daughter, Anne-Marie said her father, from north London, should never have been ruled fit to work.

O’Sullivan had been receiving income support relating to his disability for 10 years but this was stopped after he underwent two work capability assessments (WCA) in 2012 and 2013.

He was instead receiving Job Seeker’s Allowance in the six months before he died.

The inquest heard that the Atos Healthcare-employed doctor assessing O’Sullivan for the DWP, a former orthopaedic surgeon, had not taken the views of other doctors treating him that he was not fit for work.

The coroner was told that the doctor had not asked O’Sullivan if he had any suicidal thoughts during the 90-minute assessment, even though he had mentioned them in a DWP questionnaire.

The patient-led Black Triangle disability rights campaign is calling on the GMC to investigate and contact the DWP to demand the doctor’s name.

When The National spoke to the GMC yesterday, we were told that without a name nothing could be done.

Dr Stephen Carty, an Edinburgh GP and medical adviser for Black Triangle, said: “This is a very serious case, for a coroner to say that the patient committed suicide because of decision that was made, it really is incumbent on the GMC to take some leadership here.

“The GMC publishes good medical practice which advises that a doctor must act where there are systems and policies that may cause avoidable harm.

“If you take this doctor who has not done an adequate risk assessment, ignored further medical evidence and when the information is provided by the claimant not asked about suicide risk, not passed it up the chain to the medical advisor and has just what with hindsight is a very ill-informed decision.

“This doctor, in order to be able to continue to practise, has to go through revalidation where a responsible officer, reviews his or her work and whether they have core competencies and also to whom he must report any complaint.

“The GMC has said this is not their jurisdiction because this is not the delivery of healthcare but it is clearly a situation where doctors registered with the GMC are at the very least being complicit in a system which is demonstrably harmful.

“There is a lot of harm being done, which is below the level of suicide, that is very real and when an adverse event occurs there is no reporting mechanism.”

Campaign manager John McArdle said the GMC has a duty to investigate and should contact the DWP to demand the name of the doctor involved.

He added: “In the light of the coroner’s ruling we also demand that the GMC suspend Maximus assessment centres’ approved medical status and that all further assessments be halted pending the outcome of a full investigation by the GMC who state they exist to protect patients.

“Should they fail to do so the GMC itself should come under scrutiny and investigation as it is clearly failing in its stated duty to protect the public and ‘act where there are systems and policies that cause avoidable harm to patients.”

Statistics released by the DWP revealed that during the period December 2011 and February 2014, 2,380 people died after their claim for employment and support allowance (ESA) ended because a work capability assessment (WCA) found they were found fit for work.

The Government said mistakes had been made in this case and say improvements to the system have been made.

A DWP spokesman added: “We take these matters extremely seriously.”

2 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, updates

“DLA Takeaway” 84 Day Rule To Be Scrapped In Scotland!

September 23, 2015
by

This is serious progress, readers.

Scottish parents whose disabled children are forced to spend long periods in hospital will no longer lose their benefits, it has been announced, after the SNP condemned the UK Government’s existing policy as an “absolute disgrace”.

The so-called “84 day rule”, which prevents families with a seriously ill or disabled child from receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Carer’s Allowance payments after they have been in hospital for more than 84 days, will be abolished as soon as new welfare powers are devolved from Westminster to Holyrood, the Scottish Government said.

Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) policy resulted in a “horrendous experience” for the families of some disabled children, adding that ministers were taking action “as a matter of principle”.

The SNP has repeatedly sought to undermine the Conservative Government’s austerity programme by reducing its impact in Scotland. Earlier this month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said £100m would be set aside over the next year to “mitigate the harm” caused by Tory welfare cuts.

Currently, UK Government policy states that DLA payments should be suspended once a child has been in hospital for more than 84 days. The Carer’s Allowance is also affected as it is presumed that hospital staff, rather than the child’s family, are now responsible for looking after them.

However, the SNP argued that this does not take into account the severe financial burden faced by parents, who are often forced to make daily hospital visits and can also struggle to hold down a job as they try to make the best decisions for their child.

“It is an absolute disgrace that a family already going through the distress and pain of visiting their seriously ill child in hospital every day should be financially penalised,” Mr Neil said. “This will not affect many families but for those that it does affect, it is a horrendous experience and the Scottish Government is taking action as a matter of principle.”

The UK Government is currently reviewing the policy after the Supreme Court ruled over the summer it had been “grossly unfair” to suspend payments to the family of five-year-old Cameron Mathieson, who died in 2012 after suffering from cystic fibrosis and other conditions.

His family were shocked when the benefits were stopped after Cameron spent more than 12 weeks in Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool. A panel of three judges sitting at the UK’s highest court concluded that the DWP’s decision had violated his human rights.

A spokesman for the DWP said: “Following the legal judgement in July, this policy remains under review. In the meantime, families with children in hospital for more than 84 days have continued to receive Disability Living Allowance [and Carer’s Allowance].”

2 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, progress, updates

PIP Award Success Appears To Be A Postcode Lottery

September 22, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

An important factor in whether you get an award of personal independence payment appears to be the area in which you live, Benefits and Work can reveal. Claimants in some postcode areas are more than twice as likely to get an award as claimants in others.

Low award rates
Figures released last week by the DWP show that the success rate for normal rules – not terminally ill – claimants, varies from 27% to 62%, depending on which parliamentary constituency you live in.

At one extreme there are constituencies where the award rate is under 40%:

  • Scarborough and Whitby 27%
  • St Austell and Newquay 31%
  • East Yorkshire 33%
  • Kingston upon Hull East 37%
  • South East Cornwall 38%
  • York Outer 38%
  • Barrow and Furness 39%
  • Kingston upon Hull North 39%
  • Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 39%
  • Leyton and Wanstead 39%
  • North Cornwall 39%
  • Oldham East and Saddleworth 39%
  • Thirsk and Malton 39%
  • Uxbridge and South Ruislip 39%
  • York Central 39%

High award rates
At the other extreme are constituencies where awards are in the high fifties or even over 60%:

  • Weston-Super-Mare 56%
  • Berwick-upon-Tweed 57%
  • Brecon and Radnorshire 57%
  • Clwyd South 57%
  • Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale 57%
  • Mid Bedfordshire 57%
  • Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 58%
  • City of Durham 58%
  • West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 58%
  • Dumfries and Galloway 59%
  • Gainsborough 59%
  • Ross, Skye and Lochaber 59%
  • Scunthorpe 59%
  • Orkney and Shetland 61%
  • Na h-Eileanan an Iar 62%

No obvious reason
The difference is not down to which company did the assessment. Atos cover both Scarborough and Scunthorpe, for example.

It isn’t about one area having begun the switch from DLA to PIP sooner than the other. Scarborough and Scunthorpe both switched at the same time.

It’s also not that some areas have had too few claimants to be statistically significant – both Scarborough and Scunthorpe have processed well over 1,000 claims.

It’s probably not even about the fact that four of the five lowest awarding constituencies are Conservative – Labour are also well represented in the bottom ten.

Of course, you could argue that wherever you are looking at statistical averages there are bound to be outliers. So, there is no issue here, it’s just normal variability.

But if the same allegedly objective test is being administered in the same way by professionals with the same level of skill and knowledge then it’s very hard to see why they should come up with such dramatically different results.

And we aren’t just looking at statistics, we’re looking at people’s lives.

At the moment, it seems to be the case that sick and disabled claimants are likely to have very much harder lives if they live in Scarborough than if they live in Scunthorpe. And that’s not how the benefits system is supposed to work.

But there may be one thing you can do about it.

Ask a tribunal
The overall award rate for PIP is currently 48% nationally. If you are refused PIP and you live in an area where the award rate is significantly lower than this there is nothing to stop you raising this in your appeal and asking the tribunal to issue directions to the DWP to explain the reason for it.

So, for example, if you live in Scarborough and you’ve been refused PIP, you might include on your appeal form the following request:

REQUEST FOR DIRECTIONS
“I am concerned that staff assessing PIP in the Scarborough and Whitby constituency are failing to follow national guidelines for doing so, because the award rate in this constituency is only 27% compared to 48% nationally. I respectfully request that the tribunal issue directions instructing the DWP to explain the reason why the award rate is so low in this constituency. If they are unable to do so satisfactorily, I would ask that the tribunal draw inferences from their failure.”

There’s no guarantee that the tribunal will grant your request, of course. But, if they don’t, you may have grounds to appeal to the upper tribunal.

If you want to check the award rate in your constituency, you can download the DWP Excel tables of award rates here.

If you don’t find Excel files easy to use, we’ve created a simple table just of the PIP award rates by parliamentary constituency in Word format and a simple table just of the PIP award rates by parliamentary constituency in .pdf format.

             

 

     

 

 

 

 
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from → disability political policies, politics

Nike Launches Cool Trainers With People With Disabilities In Mind

September 22, 2015
by

Nearly three years after Matthew Walzer, who has cerebral palsy, wrote a viral letter asking Nike for more accessible footwear, the company has announced a new sneaker with people with disabilities in mind.

The Lebron Zoom Soldier 8 Flyease basketball sneaker employs Nike’s new Flyease technology; instead of laces, which prove extremely difficult for people with movement disorders, stroke victims and amputees, the sneaker has a zipper that extends around the back of the shoe, allowing its wearer to “peel” it open with one hand and slide his foot in easily.

Designed by Nike’s senior director of athlete innovation, Tobie Hatfield, the footwear system aims to “help athletes of all abilities and ages perform better.” Hatfield worked with Walzer to develop the cutting-edge sneakers.

“It feels great to have this shoe made for everyone and to be the catalyst for such a great project,” Walzer, 19, told Mashable. “Writing my letter three years ago, I honestly wasn’t expecting much at all, maybe a polite letter from customer service …

I couldn’t be more proud that people will be able to have this long, overdue independence.”

While Flyease has actually been seven years in the making, prompted by Nike CEO Mark Parker’s desire to help the company’s first employee, Jeff Johnson, after he had a stroke, it was Walzer’s 2012 letter that inspired Hatfield to move forward with the idea.

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from → Fun Stuff, progress

Paralympian David Smith: “I’ll Risk Life For Rio 2016”

September 22, 2015
by

Paralympian David Smith says he is putting off life-saving surgery to remove a spinal cord tumour, so he can attend the 2016 Games in Rio.

Briton Smith, 37, was first diagnosed with a tumour in 2010 whilst training for the London 2012 Paralympic games.

Despite undergoing life-threatening surgery and having to learn how to walk again, he went on to win gold in rowing.

However, whilst cycle training for the 2016 Paralympics 11 months ago, his tumour returned and he was told he needed surgery that could leave him paralysed.

Smith said he might “never cycle again” after surgery, so he was planning to “seize the moment” and “give everything” he had to make it to Rio.

This clip is originally from 5 live Daily on Tuesday 22 September 2015.

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from → Famously DisAbled, Paralympics

Pakistan Set To Hang Paralysed Prisoner Abdul Basit

September 22, 2015
by

A paraplegic man on death row in Pakistan is set to hang on Tuesday without the authorities explaining how they will carry out the execution.

The capital punishment is due to take place despite fears over the absence of legal procedures for such a punishment.

Pakistan’s prison guidelines require that a prisoner stand on the gallows in order to be hanged.

Abdul Basit, 43, is paralysed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair after becoming ill in prison.

He will become the 240th Pakistani to be executed since Pakistan reintroduced the death penalty in December 2014.

At the time, the government said it was a measure to combat terrorism after the Taliban massacred more than 150 people, most of them children, in a Peshawar school.

The condemned man was convicted six years ago of murder and was to have been hanged in Lahore last month – but this was postponed.

A court has now ordered the jail authorities to go ahead with the hanging, even though his mercy petition filed on 22 July before the president is still pending.

His lawyers argue that hanging him would constitute cruel and degrading treatment.

‘Protracted strangulation’

The prison guidelines do not cover the hanging of a paralysed person, campaigners say.

Image caption Pakistan is on course to have one of the highest rates of executions in the world

“[The] jail manual only provides for hanging as a method of execution, and lays down methods to calculate the right length of rope to ensure that hanging does not lead to protracted strangulation,” Wassam Waheed, a spokesman for Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) told the BBC.

“The rules presume that the convict [can] walk up to the gallows, which is not possible in Abdul Basit’s case.”

A trial court issued a death warrant against Abdul Basit on Friday and ordered jail authorities to hang him on 22 September.

Both the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court have given their consent to the execution.

The JPP has called on President Mamnoon Hussain to stop the execution and “show the world that we protect the lives of those most vulnerable in our society”.

Rights groups say that there is a danger that the hanging could go wrong and end up being a breach of the prisoner’s dignity – which is protected by Pakistani laws.

Abdul Basit

  • Was convicted in 2009 for killing a man who was the uncle of a woman with whom he was accused of having a relationship
  • He denies murdering the man
  • In 2010, he contracted tubercular meningitis, was in coma for several weeks and ended up being paralysed from the waist down
  • His lawyers argue that his incontinence will add to his loss of dignity during his execution
Image copyright Abdul Basit family
Image caption Abdul Basit, seen here before his arrest, became paralysed in prison

In a statement on Sunday the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) described the court order to hang Abdul Basit as an offence “against all norms of civilised justice” which would raise awkward questions about the Pakistani justice system and “indict the Pakistani state and society as brutal entities”.

The HRCP also urged the president to stay the execution and grant him a reprieve.

Pakistan has the world’s largest number of death row inmates, with more than 8,000 people reported to be awaiting execution.

It is on course to have one of the highest rates of executions in the world.

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from → mainstream madness

Diabetes? Need A GP? Get On Work Programme Says JobCentre Adviser

September 22, 2015
by

This is an extract from Kate Belgrave’s recent post. It’s the transcript of a conversation in which a JobCentre adviser tells a 52 year old man with learning difficulties and diabetes to get on the Work Programme when he tries to explain his illness.

Transcript:

JCP (Jobcentre Plus Adviser): “Hi, are you all right?

Claimant: Not too good.

JCP? Not too good?

Claimant: Not too well.

JCP: Oh. Okay.

Claimant: Not feeling very well at all.

JCP: Oh. The diabetes, you mean. You had lunch?

Claimant: Not yet, no. I will have to shortly soon.

JCP: What time do you normally eat then?

Claimant: Sometimes, it’s like one, or two, or three o’clock, like.

JCP: Aren’t you supposed to stick to a bit more regular…?

Claimant: Yeah. I should have…shortly.

JCP: [looking at me] Yeah, okay…Is this the same lady as last week?

Me: Yeah… hello [Recording edited here to remove a name]

JCP: Right, so how long have I got then?

Claimant: Not very long.

Me: Do you want to get to the doctor?

Claimant: I have to go to the doctor shortly, anyway. And check my sugar, because it is so high.

JCP: Right, right…okay. Because we booked it [this appointment] because we didn’t have much time on Friday (sic), but obviously, if it’s the same sort of scenario…

Claimant: [unclear] Hyper…hyper…it comes just like that. Sometimes, it just comes, you know.

JCP: Yeah. You have to stick to regular mealtimes…you know that, don’t you. You have to stick to really regular times to eat, otherwise you’re going to get issues… Right. So we haven’t got much time. You sign on next week… Did you have any more thinking about doing the voluntary work to help you? To [get] paid jobs?”

 

 

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from → disability political policies, politics

Dear Iain Duncan Smith, Meet Danika, 19- How Can She Work?

September 22, 2015
by

A parent carer’s letter to IDS. Please share widely.

6 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

#Refugee Girl With CP Separated From Family At Croatia Camp, Reports BBC

September 21, 2015
by

I am moved by BBC reports today of the refugee girl with CP separated from her family at the camp in Croatia.

Reports add that elderly, sick, pregnant, and disabled people are being taken to the camp ASAP but separated from their families and/or husbands.

I don’t know who the girl with CP on the news is- but I know that she is a member of my community. She is just like me. I am just like her.

I sincerely hope that she finds food and safe shelter as soon as possible. I also hope that she finds suitable healthcare, equipment and/or medication.

But most of all, I hope she finds her family, and that once they have crossed the queue at the camp, they are never separated again. Because as a girl with CP, I know that I would be extremely distressed if I lost my family in a foreign country, in a crowd of that size, even for a second.

It is very easy for most people to see the refugees and migrants as ‘others,’ as ‘foreigners.’ It is very easy for most people to say ‘they’ have come to take ‘our’ jobs, school places, and healthcare.

However, today, readers, I thank the BBC for focusing on the human stories behind the much larger news story.

Because this focus has reminded me that refugees and migrants may be coming from all corners of the globe, but all that really matters is that in all the ways that really matter, they are just like all of us.

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from → DisAbility in the News

BREAKING: Information Commissioner’s Office Asked To Rule On Claimant Deaths

September 21, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Benefits and Work has asked the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to intervene as the DWP continues to ignore requests for further information about secret reports into claimant deaths.

Disability News Service discovered last year that the DWP had carried out secret reviews into the deaths of 49 claimants. The DWP have refused to publish details of those reviews.

In June of this year Benefits and Work made a freedom of information request asking:

a) How many of the 49 claimants whose deaths were peer reviewed were ESA claimants who were, or had recently been, on the work programme.

b) How many of these were deemed to be vulnerable claimants in relation to ‘safeguarding’ procedures.

However, while the DWP admit that they hold this information, they refuse to hand it over on the grounds that:

“The Department considers this to be confidential information about our clients gathered by civil servants in the course of their duties. This being the case Section 123 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (SSAA) prohibits the release of such information.”

We don’t for a moment accept the DWP’s grounds for refusal.

We asked for a review of the decision. Initially the DWP told us that they would give us their response by 25 August. When that date passed we contacted them and asked for a response within 7 days.

We received only an automated response.

At the end of 7 days we told the DWP we would now be contacting the ICO.

We received only an automated response.

We have now passed all the correspondence to the ICO.

Given the recent revelation that a coroner has ruled that a claimant’s suicide was triggered by being wrongly found fit for work, the DWP’s refusal to give more information about these deaths becomes increasingly suspicious.

We’ll keep readers informed.

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from → disability political policies, politics, progress, updates

Boy, 11, Left Brain Damaged After Great Ormond Street Ignored Advice Of His Medical Scientist Mum

September 21, 2015
by

An 11-year old boy has been left brain damaged after a leading hospital ignored the advice of his medical scientist mother, she claims.

Gabrielle Ali says her son’s disabilities – which mean he cannot walk or talk – are the result of a series of blunders by Great Ormond Street.

After her son developed a complication following routine surgery at the world famous hospital, she was told to take son Elijah to her local hospital.

There, under direction of Great Ormond Street, Accident & Emergency doctors gave him a blood thinner called heparin that Miss Ali claims put Elijah into cardiac arrest.

She knew the blood thinner would damage her son but pleas to doctors were ignored.It was 45 minutes before the resuscitation team managed to restart her child’s heart.

After being starved of oxygen for so long, Elijah suffered serious brain damage and can no longer walk or talk.

Ms Ali, 31, said: “From my scientific knowledge I knew it wasn’t safe to give heparin to my son as his haemoglobin – red blood cell level – was so low.

“The lowest safe level is around 84. Elijah’s was off the scale at 50. He desperately needed a blood transfusion first.

“I was really anxious that heparin would thin the blood around Elijah’s body too much and put his vital organs at risk.”

“I argued with doctors at Watford General Hospital where I was told to take him by Great Ormond Street. But they said they were acting on the instructions of Great Ormond Street. They threatened legal action if I tried to remove him from the hospital.”

Within seconds of heparin being infused into a vein Elijah went into cardiac arrest.

He was born with congenital heart defects and a cleft palate, had undergone a dental operation at Great Ormond Street in late March 2014.

Because he had an artificial heart valve, he is on a commonly used blood thinner called warfarin to reduce the chance of clots developing.

After the operation he bled heavily but when he was discharged when it stopped, despite his mother’s concerns. Once home he started bleeding again.

Great Ormond Street advised he be taken to Watford’s A&E unit. He was treated with a blood clotting agent and sent home.

Miss Ali says her son continued to be unwell but that it was not until March 31st that Great Ormond Street agreed to carry out a blood test.

The next day she was told his haemoglobin level was abnormal but was told to go to Watford hospital, as Great Ormond Street had no beds.

Staff at Watford made plans to carry out a blood transfusion the next day.

But before doing so, on the instructions of Great Ormond Street, they ordered a heparin infusion, despite Miss Ali’s protests.

Her son now cannot walk or talk and needs constant care.

She has hired solicitors Irwin Mitchell to press a case of gross medical negligence against Great Ormond Street.

She told The Daily Telegraph: “It was torture, knowing what would happen if Elijah was given heparin but being unable to stop it. I tried my best to fight them, but they didn’t listen.

• Woman gets £8 million payout for NHS operation blunder

A serious incident report by Watford Hospital said its staff were working under the instructions of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We recognise that there are lessons to be learned in relation to the care provided to Elijah, including in relation to the advice we received from the specialist hospital in charge of his case. As a result, we have made a number of changes which will help prevent a similar event happening again.

Dr Vin Diwakar, medical director at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “We cannot imagine what an immensely difficult time this must be for the family.”

He said an investigation had been launched, but that it was not yet possible to determine whether anything could have been done differently.

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from → mainstream madness

Owen Smith To Write To IDS Over Fit For Work Death Coroner Verdict

September 21, 2015
by
3 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, progress, updates

One In Ten Men In Gyms May Have ‘Bigorexia’

September 21, 2015
by

It’s feared one in 10 men training in UK gyms could have a condition which can lead to depression, steroid abuse and even suicide.

Muscle dysmorphia, which is also known as bigorexia, is an anxiety disorder which causes someone to see themselves as small, despite being big and muscular.

The condition can affect men and women, but one expert suggested many cases go unreported.

It is sometimes described as a kind of “reverse anorexia”.

Rob Willson, chair of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, said: “We know about 10% of men in the gym may have muscle dysmorphia.”

Signs of bigorexia may include

    • Overexertion at the gym
    • Working out compulsively
    • Use of anabolic steroids
    • Excessively looking at your body in the mirror
    • Abuse of supplements and constant drinking of protein shakes
    • Irritability and angry outbursts
    • Depression and mania
    • Panic if you miss your gym session
    • Training while injured
    • Prioritising working out over family and social life
 

He believes the condition a growing problem, but that many cases may be going undiagnosed because there is little awareness of the disorder.

“Muscle dysmorphia is a preoccupation with the idea that one isn’t big enough, isn’t muscular enough,” he explains.

“There are thousands upon thousands with it, who are going to be excessively concerned about their appearance, having very poor self-esteem, and also feeling very anxious and very worried.

“Sometimes individuals can become very depressed and hopeless and that can even lead to suicide,” he said.

What can cause bigorexia?

Mr Willson said men are increasingly conditioned to think that they need to look a certain way if they want to feel successful, powerful and attractive.

“We’re seeing an increased pressure on men to look muscular, create a ‘V’ shape and have a six pack,” he added.

The cause of bigorexia is not clear. The NHS states it may be genetic or caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Life experiences may also be a factor, with bigorexia possibly more common in people who were bullied or abused as a child.

Adam Trice, 31, from Shipley, West Yorkshire, was an amateur bodybuilder and said he was obsessed with getting bigger.

He had muscle dysmorphia and his quest for the “perfect” body meant he was constantly in the gym and using steroids.

“I started off at 12 stone, my goal was 15, I got to 15, then it was 17, then it was 19, and you’re always striving for something else, the goalpost is constantly moving,” he said.

Adam ended up losing his job, his girlfriend and his home.

He said he became so depressed that he tried to take his own life.

“I was unhappy; I didn’t have peace in my life. I was not dealing with my problem and I tried to take my own life. I was in a really dark place,” he said.

Adam ended up in hospital and had to seek professional help.

“I had a lot of therapy, did a lot of work on myself and found out a lot about myself. I learnt to like myself.”

Steroid use can be a sign of bigorexia. These drugs can boost muscle growth but there is a long list of side-effects.

This includes hair loss, testicle shrinkage and increased risk of heart and liver problems.

Oli Loyne was 18 when he started taking steroids to get bigger.

His mother, Sarah, said his muscle dysmorphia may have been trigged by insecurities over his height.

“It was a lot to do with the fact he was so short,” she said.

“He was about 5’2″. He didn’t have the height and he wanted to make up for that by being as wide as he could.”

Oli’s excessive training and steroid use led to two heart attacks and a stroke when he was 19.

He died after having a third heart attack when he was 20.

“There was just no getting through to him. No getting through about what he was doing to his body,” said Sarah.

“He was like ‘I need to look like the image in my head. I need to look big.'”

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from → polls, rare conditions

Ministers Say Sport Must Do More For Disabled Supporters

September 21, 2015
by

Professional football, rugby and cricket clubs across Britain have been urged by the government to improve facilities for disabled spectators after two surveys found most clubs and grounds “dispiriting” and “a stain on our major sports and leagues”.

Tracey Crouch, the sports minister, and Justin Tomlinson, the minister for disabled people, have written to all 223 clubs surveyed for a government report, Inclusive and Accessible Stadia. Calling on clubs to improve the overall experience for disabled supporters, the ministers have said: “We know there is some good practice out there and some spectator sports clubs are making a real difference to the experience of their disabled fans. But depressingly these are still the exceptions rather than the rule. The stories of bad and dubious treatment of disabled spectators seem to be never-ending and are a stain on our major sports and leagues.”

The surveys, one of disabled supporters, the other a questionnaire sent to all 223 clubs – only 88 replied – found that disabled supporters’ barriers to attending sport went beyond the most publicised issue, which is that most Premier League football clubs provide fewer wheelchair spaces than recommended in their own Accessible Stadia guide.

The ministers stressed that 11.9 million people in the UK have a disability, one in five of the population, yet they experience challenges to being able to enjoy sport, due to the failure of clubs and grounds to adequately cater for them.

The letter urges clubs to consider providing better information on their websites, enabling disabled fans to buy tickets online, ensuring disabled supporters can sit with their families, making other physical adjustments to grounds, providing enough seats for home and away disabled supporters, and training stewards, and staff at levels of the clubs in disability awareness and confidence.

The Premier League, which has been criticised for failing to ensure that all its clubs comply with the Accessible Stadia guide, promised this week to do so by 2017, a victory for campaigners including the Level Playing Field organisation whose chair, Joyce Cook, said it had taken 14 years. In their letter, the ministers welcome the Premier League’s move, but warn: “This is not an excuse for complacency. We challenge all clubs, across all sporting disciplines, to bring spectator sport into the 21st century by making sure they are inclusive and accessible to all spectators. And, in particular, we call on our higher-level and wealthier clubs to set an example and act as fast as possible.”

The Football League told the Observer that its clubs are focusing on improving the matchday experience, rather than on providing more spaces, because disabled spaces are on average only 49% occupied. The league said 87% of clubs now have dedicated staff to assist disabled fans, and 97% provide accessible parking or drop‑off points for disabled fans.

“We will continue to work with our clubs, Level Playing Field and the government to ensure that clubs continue to raise these standards and deliver the matchday experience that disabled supporters deserve,” a league spokesman said.

Premiership Rugby said it has commissioned Level Playing Field to conduct full audits of disabled access and facilities at all its clubs’ grounds, as part of the Rugby 4 All initiative with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. The England and Wales Cricket Board is also commissioning an audit of all county grounds in partnership with the EHRC, which will then inform changes counties need to make. An ECB spokesman said: “The audit is part of a wider initiative to address the needs of disabled cricket fans and ensure our sport is as inclusive and accessible as possible.”

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from → mainstream madness, polls, progress

35 Amici Drive: A Review

September 21, 2015
by

From yesterday’s Guardian:

In 1980, a young choreographer named Wolfgang Stange founded Amici, a pioneering London-based company for able-bodied and disabled performers. No one, said Stange, is too young, too old, or too physically impaired to dance. Thirty-five years later Stange’s productions, which have something of the surreal wit and darkness of Pina Bausch, continue to explore the worlds of those marginalised by difference. 35 Amici Drive tells the story of a residents’ group protesting against the imminent destruction of their block by developers.

The residents are vulnerable but resilient. There’s a single mother (Vicki Hawkins) and her sullen eight-year-old (Stephanie Gallagher). “She’s meeting a new dad tonight,” Hawkins confides to the audience, furiously buffing Gallagher’s nails to the strains of Ravel’s Bolero. “We’re getting a KFC family bucket.”

There’s a volatile domestic triangle made up of an abused woman (Suzie Birchwood), her lover (Olivia Quayle), and her violent security guard husband (Jan Patzke). The exchanges between them, with Birchwood lifted from her wheelchair to dance in the air, veer between the tender and the terrifying.

There’s cross-dressing Ebony Rose Dark, played by Mikel Smithen, who is severely visually impaired but was nevertheless taught by Stange to walk on stilts, and Liz Greeley is the stiflingly over-possessive mother of a disabled son (Aimé Bosc Nikolov). “I don’t want to die before you,” she sings to him, heartrendingly.

This is an ambitious spectacle. There are rarely fewer than 40 people on stage, and dances and production numbers are delivered with terrific brio, if not always precision. But it works. What some might see as disabilities, Stange sees as traits to be harnessed and used. He’s a showman, wholly unsentimental, with an exceptional gift for drawing truthful performances from his cast. He’s also one of British theatre’s great unsung heroes. Few artists make a real difference. Stange has.

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from → Fun Stuff

A Son’s Tribute To A Mother Lost To DWP Madness

September 20, 2015
by
Spotted on Facebook.


My mother Ruby Urbacz age 59 was found dead at her home on the 6th September as a result of a heart attack. She had been admitted to hospital a 01/08/15 for chest pains where they found she had had three minor heart attacks. Even though my mother had poor mobility , type 2 diabetes, very basic numeracy and literacy skills and mental health problems including depression, she was deemed “fit for work” by the DWP . She was put on JSA and hounded to show evidence of looking for a job she struggled to write a shopping list and thus constantly worried about money and if her benefits would be stopped.
Her benefits were stopped without without any investigation as she missed her jsa appointment whilst in hospital, after her discharge she had received no money for five consecutive weeks of the £50 per week she would have normally received she was also paying £20 per week in bedroom tax. On only £30 per week She could not afford to feed herself properly as bills were her main priority, so was living off food bought from poundland which obviously worsened her diabetes.
She was getting carer visits from the red cross
After her discharge from hospital. On the the 4th September the cares notes say “Ruby is worried about money, still waiting for benefits to be sorted.” She died less than 48hours later.
I’m writing this not because I want sympathy but to make you aware that Ian Duncan Smith’s policies are directly contributing to the deaths of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Please do not comment with sympathetic messages as this will not change anything, instead share this post and make as many people aware of the contemptuous nature of our self serving government who punish the poor and give to the rich.
Thank you for sharing.

 

13 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, tributes

Fury Among Scottish Disability Rights Campaigners As London Coroner Says DWP Assessment Is To Blame For Suicide

September 19, 2015
by
THE UK Government’s brutal welfare cuts have for the first time officially been blamed for the death of a disabled dad.

The 60-year-old man with serious mental health problems killed himself after being hounded back to work by Iain Duncan Smith’s Department of Work and Pensions(DWP) after being on disability benefits for 10 years.

An investigation found that the “trigger” for the suicide was “his recent assessment by a DWP doctor as being fit for work”.

The London-based coroner has written to the DWP raising concerns that “there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken.

Last month, we revealed that thousands of people have died after being declared “fit for work” sparking fresh calls from campaigners and politicians for an overhaul of the Tory Government’s welfare regime.

New statistics released by the DWP show that more than 80 people a month are dying shortly after the work capability assessment (WCA) found them fit for work.

The shocking figures revealed that 2,380 claimants died between December 2011 and February 2014 shortly after being told to get back to work and their benefits were being stopped.

However, this is the first time an official has ruled that the death of a claimant was as a direct result of being found fit for work.

The coroner’s report has sparked fury among Scottish disability rights campaigners and Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil who say this is “the most damning evidence yet” which proves that the benefit reforms are killing people.

Disabled activists described the ruling as “ground-breaking” in the fight to get the fitness-for-work tests scrapped and replaced with a more humane and less dangerous assessment.

Neil said: “This coroner’s verdict is the most damning evidence yet of the appalling cost of the UK Tory government’s inhumane welfare policies.

“This man’s suicide has been linked directly by the coroner to the fact he was assessed by the DWP as being ‘fit for work’ – despite a huge weight of expert medical evidence to the contrary. The fact that none of this medical evidence was taken into account by the DWP is totally unacceptable.

“This utterly tragic case is the starkest example imaginable of the reality of what is happening as a result of Tory welfare cuts – and it only begs the question as to how many more cases like this may go uncovered.”

Following the inquest, the coroner wrote to the DWP saying that the Atos healthcare professional had failed to take into account the views of any of the man’s doctors during a 90-minute assessment, telling him the DWP decision-maker would look at that evidence instead.

But the Atos assessor did not request any reports or letters from his GP, who had assessed him as not being well enough to work, his psychiatrist who diagnosed him with recurrent depression and panic disorder with agoraphobia, or his clinical psychologist, who had assessed him as “very anxious and showing signs of clinical depression”.

Instead, the man, from north London, was found fit for work and six months later, he killed himself in the autumn of 2013. The inquest took place last year but the shocking details of the report have only just emerged.

The coroner’s verdict stated: “The anxiety and depression were long-term problems, but the intense anxiety that triggered his suicide was caused by his recent assessment by the DWP as being fit for work, and his view of the likely consequences of that.”

A spokesperson for Disabled People Against Cuts said: “This is a ground-breaking verdict, which must now put the onus on the DWP to explain themselves since the response they provided to the coroner was pitiful, callous and inadequate.”

The patient-led Black Triangle disability rights campaign co-founder, John McArdle, said the case provided “the first irrefutable evidence from a member of the judiciary that the DWP’s regime has been directly responsible for the death of a disabled person and that there exists no reliable mechanism for doctors to flag up substantial risk”.

He added: “It is now incumbent on the government to respond swiftly and meaningfully.”

A DWP spokesman said: “Suicide is a tragic and complex issue and we take these matters extremely seriously.

“Following reforms to the work capability assessment, which was introduced in 2008, people are getting more tailored support to return to work instead of being written off on long term sickness benefits as happened too often in the past.”

9 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics, progress, tributes

The New Shadow Minister For Disabled People Is Debbie Abrahams MP

September 18, 2015
by

 

 

Given her record on issues that affect us, Same Difference has high hopes for her time as Shadow Minister. We send her our sincere congratulations and good wishes.

5 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

How Twitch Lets Disabled Gamers Earn A Living Online

September 18, 2015
by

In the summer of 2014, Mackenzie had just started working two minimum-wage jobs in Colorado when she suffered a major epileptic seizure at home, one that left her reeling and disoriented. She was home alone and, following the attack, too bewildered and drowsy to know to call in sick. The infraction was enough to earn Mackenzie, who was 22 at the time, a so-called “no call, no show” blot on her record from each employer – a restaurant, where she worked tables, and a gym. While both companies knew about Mackenzie’s history of severe seizures, this was, they said, grounds for dismissal. She was told not to return to work. “I’m in the process of fighting it,” she tells me. “But both companies have a lot of money … ”

Mackenzie’s seizures are so severe – she was featured earlier this year on MTV’s True Life: I Have Epilepsy – that she is unable to drive (or climb, or swim, or wield a knife, among many other things). Neither will she take the bus to work because, if she suffers a fit on board, well-meaning members of the public inevitably call for an ambulance to take her to the hospital – a costly trip in the US. Indeed, Mackenzie’s medical debts currently total more than $30,000. Jobs that are walking distance from her home are hard to find, and harder still to hold down.

Around the time she was dismissed, Mackenzie had started watching Twitch.tv, the online video streaming service on which you can log in to watch so-called “streamers” present live TV broadcasts. She’d heard that some of these presenters, who usually played video games on air, were popular enough that they were able to earn a living from their broadcasts. Moreover, many of these streamers were unable to work other jobs. There was NoHandsKen, a quadriplegic streamer who is dependent on a ventilator to breathe; Brolylegs, who, despite having no arms, is an expert player of Street Fighter, a game that requires immense dexterity (he describes himself as the “best Chun-Li with no hands”); DHHGamers, which stands for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Gamers, a Twitch community for hearing-impaired gamers who stream and play a variety of online games; and a slew of others. Sensing a problem-solving opportunity, Mackenzie set up an account. Rather than trying to disguise her illness, she instead decided to advertise it via the droll handle Mackenseize.

In 2014, Amazon bought Twitch for $970m, a seemingly ludicrous amount for a website whose value and appeal might appear, to non-viewers, nebulous and ill-defined. In fact, the pitch is simple: Twitch is a service on which anyone is able to broadcast anything live online, from a live concert to a poetry recital. Broadcasters each have their own channel, and viewers follow their favourite presenters, like radio listeners who track their preferred DJs as they move from station to station. Viewers can channel-hop, leave live comments on what they’re watching, and even donate money to support the broadcasters they enjoy. Twitch is arguably the most democratic broadcasting television service yet devised, even if its subject matter is currently narrow. (Programmes on Twitch’s precursor, justin.tv, were general interest, but its popularity was immediately surpassed by that of Twitch, which launched as a video game-focused spinoff in June 2011.)

Unlike, for example, YouTube, the videos are not recorded for posterity (though some do end up there). Like live television, the moment passes and is lost. Log on to watch your favourite broadcaster while they are offline and you’ll be greeted with a blank page. This is appointment-viewing, as evidenced by the fact that, as well as individual broadcasters, Twitch also hosts live events, especially increasingly popular eSports tournaments, in which professional video game players compete for growing prize pots. In March, more than a million viewers logged in to watch the Extreme Masters World Championship in Katowice, Poland – the record for the number of concurrent viewers watching a single channel on Twitch to date.

Twitch’s inscrutability derives from two factors. The audience is predominantly teenage, and the material they watch predominantly footage of people playing and talking about video games. Nevertheless, the numbers involved are extraordinary. A data survey in April 2014 found that Twitch had a 43% share of all live-streaming web traffic in the US. In the same year the site began to attract an average of 100 million unique viewers per month. Viewers watch for an average of 106 minutes per day – which adds up to many billions of minutes watched on Twitch per month. Video games are no longer our species’ ultimate time-waster; that dubious accolade goes, instead, to watching other people play video games.

On a wet Thursday morning, Mackenzie sits at her computer wearing a grey hoody and a pair of bulky headphones, with one can slipped off the ear. Her webcam is positioned flatteringly above one of the two computer screens in front of her. She ping-pongs her head between the two screens, one of which displays the match she’s currently playing over the internet – a competitive card game called Hearthstone – and the other the Twitch chat log, where her viewers leave comments on what she is doing.

“Eight, nine, 10 … he’s coming up to 11 health and we have eight damage,” she says, leaning in to the monitor at the climax of a match. “So if we get a dark bomb … actually, we can Boom? No, we can’t Boom Hellfire. That’s fine.”

The conversation, which is arcane to anyone who is not versed in the complexities of Hearthstone, appears to be one-way. Mackenzie’s is the only voice we hear, but she routinely responds to questions that her viewers pose in chat, turning the stream into a dialogue – “kenz, whats your favorite vanilla-flavored ice cream flavor?” asks one viewer.

Later, the conversation turns to epilepsy. “I started smoking two years before I had any seizures,” she reports. Another viewer suggests that weed can be useful in controlling epilepsy.

“At first I didn’t know what to do,” Mackenzie tells me, of her Twitch debut. She watched other streamers, studied their techniques and the things they talked to their viewers about while playing their chosen game – usually tips and techniques about what they were doing in the game, mixed in with more general talk about their lives. “If I enjoyed sitting in a particular stream, I’d copy what they did.” It was a steep learning curve. “I knew that this wasn’t going to go anywhere if I only streamed for a few hours each day, or only every other day,” she says. “I had an opportunity, and I wasn’t going to waste it. Almost from the start I was doing 60 hours a week. I’d wake up, get dressed and showered, then start streaming from 11am through to 11pm every single day.”

The hard work paid off. At first, Mackenzie would have a few dozen players entering her stream. A year later, that figure averages around 350. Mackenzie now has more than 27,000 followers, who are notified every time she starts a broadcast. She is also able to earn a living from this newly minted vocation. “Because I knew I wanted this to become my job, I installed a donation button right from the off.” This allowed viewers to donate money to Mackenzie in one-off payments, but the income was naturally uneven. “One month someone would donate a crazy amount of money,” she recalls. “Then the next month I’d only make $400. The first few months it was random, but I was still making more money than I had made on minimum-wage jobs to which I had to walk or catch the bus.”

After six months, Mackenzie was invited to join Twitch’s partnership programme, which allowed her to add paid subscriptions to her channel. Around 11,000 of Twitch’s 1.5 million streamers are partners. It costs viewers $4.99 per month to subscribe to a channel; half of this goes to Twitch, and the rest goes to the streamer. While Mackenzie’s income is still uneven, it has steadied now, and she has even been able to pay off some of her medical bills.

The reasons for Twitch’s success can be difficult to unpick. Undoubtedly, it’s the latest triumph to rise from the recent seismic shifts in broadcasting. During the past five years, the rise of so-called “casters” has made internet stars of numerous young YouTube and Twitch broadcasters. The 24-year-old Swede Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg has more than 28 million subscribers to his channel, an audience that rivals that of America’s slick-haired talkshow hosts. PewDiePie reportedly earned $7.2m in 2014. The stars of these services share some of the attributes that propelled TV stars to fame in decades past: they are likable, watchable, humorous or insightful – even if they are, usually, laser-focused on a particular niche.

The site’s success is also down to the interactive relationship between streamer and viewer. “The reason why Twitch is so sticky is because it is not just people watching video games; it’s a social video experience,” explains Chase, who helped launch the service in 2011. “The broadcasters are talking to the viewers and the people in chat are interacting with the broadcasters and each other; it is a very dynamic conversation.” Stacey Rebecca, a Twitch streamer from Croydon who suffers from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome – chronic back pain that makes it difficult for her to leave the house unaided – agrees. “It’s the excitement of it being live,” she says. “It’s more interactive and more personal for that reason. Getting to witness silly and cool things happen live makes it more interesting than YouTube to me.”

Nevertheless, positive communities don’t happen naturally on Twitch, just as they don’t elsewhere on the internet, where the veil of anonymity encourages abusive behaviour. “I had to be strict about who I let in,” says Mackenzie. “That stunted building my audience. It’s easy to get a large audience, especially as a woman, if you don’t moderate your chat at all, and you just let people come in and say whatever they want. A lot of people do drunk streams, or smoke on screen, and I don’t do that. It’s been slow and steady to build, but every time someone comes into the channel and enjoys it, they stay for a long time. I’m proud of that.” Nevertheless, Mackenzie chooses to keep her surname a secret, so as to maintain a certain degree of privacy, even as she lets strangers into her home via a video linkup daily.

Stacey Rebecca, who had a following as a cosplayer (someone who dresses up as characters from films, video games and comics) before she joined Twitch, has also worked hard to cultivate a non-toxic community. “There are things called ‘stream raids’, where a group of bored teens will visit certain channel and post insults in the chat log,” she says. “But it’s copy-and-paste stuff. Because I’ve already done the cosplay stuff, I’ve heard pretty much every insult. Very often it’s not personal. They’re just looking to get a reaction, and if they don’t, they get bored.”
Stacey Rebecca plays Hearthstone

Only a relative handful of disabled streamers earn their living from the service, but as well as providing a supplemental income, Twitch offers a support community. “Twitch gives me that feeling of being less isolated,” says Stacey Rebecca. “I have a lot of regulars, and it’s nice to have that kind of friendly group that I can essentially hang out with each day without having to leave the house. And because I’ve been open about my mental health problems, I attract a lot of viewers who are experiencing anxiety. It helps us both feel less isolated. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

As well as providing new jobs, Twitch has proven a powerful fundraising tool. The site claims that it helped raise more than $10m for charity in 2014. When she lost one of her friends to suicide recently, Stacey Rebecca held a 12-hour charity stream, raising more than £6,500 for Mind, the mental health charity. “The charity was a little confused about what I was proposing,” she says. “So I explained it like a telethon – like Comic Relief, but online.”

Likewise, Mackenseize sees her work as helping to promote understanding about epilepsy. When she had a severe seizure live on air, soon after she first started streaming, she says it only strengthened the bond between her and her viewers (she subsequently uploaded the footage to YouTube, to show people what a seizure looks like). In this way Twitch is helping to foster openness and vulnerability around illness in a way that would have been unthinkable in the past.

Even so, it’s been difficult for Mackenzie to explain to her family what she does. “My mum never says anything positive about the stream,” she says. “She doesn’t want to view it as a positive thing because she just wants me to come home. But yesterday she said on the phone that my stream gives her faith in humanity, because there are so many strangers out there willing to help.”

While the positive aspect to the arrangement is clear in Mackenzie’s case, her schedule is nevertheless gruelling and, as she mainly focuses on a single game – at which she has become an expert – surely repetitive. Is it still fun? “Oh yes,” she says. “Times a million. There will always be challenges in the game because the developer keeps adding new cards and mixing things up. That keeps the game fresh. And I am always so excited to stream. There’s never a day I don’t want to. Well, maybe when I’m feeling lazy, and don’t want to take a shower or do my makeup. But once I start, I always end up loving what I’m doing.”

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from → Fun Stuff, original ideas

Paralysed Artist Paints Rugby Union Captain

September 18, 2015
by

A man left paralysed from the shoulders down following a diving accident in 2009 is to have his painting of England rugby union captain Chris Robshaw printed on the front of a national newspaper.

Henry Fraser, who paints by holding the brush in his mouth, told the Victoria Derbyshire programme he has developed an interest in art as a result of the accident.

Watch the full film of Henry’s story here at Victoria Derbyshire on weekdays from 09:15-11:00 BST on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel.

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from → Fun Stuff

Number of SEN pupils plummets after abolition of statements‏

September 17, 2015
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A press release:

Research by Bath Spa University revealed  today that the number of children registered as having special educational needs (SEN) is dropping sharply as schools respond to government policy changes and possibly to pressures on their budgets.

Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism explains the need to focus on support rather than numbers:

“The SEN reforms are about supporting young people with autism and other SEN being able to thrive and achieve at school – not about an arbitrary change in the way that we classify SEN. If pressure on budgets is driving schools to reduce the number of children they identify as having SEN that is deeply worrying.

“We know that at least 1 in 100 children have autism and that many are currently not getting the support they need to succeed at school. Our Ruled Out report found that over half of parents of children with autism say they have kept their child out of school for fear that the school is unable to provide appropriate support. This points to an under – rather than over – identification of needs.

“Identification of SEN should be based on an assessment of a child’s needs and nothing else. We mustn’t let the debate about numbers distract us from delivering the best possible additional educational support to the children that need it.”

Same Difference adds: As passionate supporters of inclusive education, we too find this research very worrying. We fear that it means mainstream schools may be rejecting disabled pupils- who despite their disabilities, have much to offer in many areas of the mainstream National Curriculum.

Even more worryingly, this could mean that children with disabilities and SEN in mainstream schools are not being provided with the statements they need, and that as a direct result, they are not being provided with appropriate support at school.

 

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from → council craziness, mainstream madness

LORDS COMMITTEE VISIT DISABILITY SUPPORT ORGANISATION TO DISCUSS EQUALITY LEGISLATION

September 17, 2015
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A press release:

 

 

-Committee on the Equality Act 2010 hears from disabled people at Real, in Tower Hamlets-
A House of Lords committee has met with disability support organisation Real, as part of its investigation into how well the Equality Act 2010 is working for disabled people.

Real, which is a user-led support organisation for disabled people based in Tower Hamlets, invited members of the Lords Committee to their offices on Tuesday 15 September.

The House of Lords Committee on the Equality Act 2010 is investigating what sort of impact the legislation is having on disabled people.

Six members of the Lords Committee heard from a variety of Real members about the realities of day to day life with disabilities.

Baroness Deech, Chair of the Committee, said:
“For the Committee to get out and speak to disabled people is invaluable for our investigation. We heard some frank views on the Equality Act 2010, both good and bad, and they have given us a great deal of food for thought, which will inform our eventual findings. We appreciate all the hard work by everyone at Real, and I’d like to thank them again. Our final report will benefit enormously from all their efforts.”

Mike Smith, Chief Executive of Real, said:
“Real, as a user-led organisation of disabled people, is all about getting the collective voice of disabled people heard and making change happen to ensure disabled people have equal opportunities, choices and chances in life. There is a natural synergy between our objectives and the aims of the Committee. Today we heard some amazing stories of day-to-day struggles disabled people experience trying to achieve equality. Although direct discrimination is less common than 20 years ago when the DDA was first introduced, too often people were reporting unintentional indirect discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, poor understanding and awareness, and a lack of ability to enforce their rights. Many still didn’t know what their rights were or how to find out more. There was an incredible energy in the room and we are grateful to have been given the opportunity to help the Committee understand the reality of life for many disabled people.”

Faiz Rehman, a member of Real, said:
“I felt it was a good event, and I found it really encouraging that the Lords Committee have made this connection to our organisation. I personally think the Equality Act is ambiguous and not as concise as the previous Disability Discrimination Act, and I am glad that the Committee plan on producing a report on the new legislation.”

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from → disability political policies, politics

Assisted Suicide Campaigner Too Ill To Fly To Dignitas Dies By Refusing Food

September 17, 2015
by

A campaigner for assisted dying who could not travel to a Swiss euthanasia clinic has starved himself to death.

Tony Mitchell, 68, had MS and cancer of the oesophagus.

He was due to end his life at Dignitas but a heart attack earlier this month prevented him flying alone.

The OAP, of Frome, Somerset, feared his family would be arrested for assisting a suicide if they helped him travel.

Instead he refused all food and died on Saturday.

Speaking days before his death, he said he was “devastated”adding: “I wish the heart attack took me and I’d have been out of it.

“I can’t swallow, the only thing I can swallow is ice cream and cold coffee. I only accept pain relief and a small amount of liquid, other than that, nothing.

“Everybody has a right to die when and where they wish.

“I’ve accepted it, I know my girls won’t want to hear this, but if I go in the next 20 minutes I would be happy – very, very happy.

 

“I want my kids to remember me as I am, not what I will become – short of breath, bedridden, remember me how I was.

“Only they know the answer to that. I hope I’ve been a lovely dad to them.”

Over the last 18 months Tony has argued that people in the UK deserve to choose how and when they die.

He was due to fly to Switzerland on Sunday 13 September, three days before his planned appointment at Dignitas in Zurich.

But on September 5 he suffered a heart attack leaving him unable to travel without help from his family.

Tony then refused to eat, leading to his death on Saturday.

Before he passed away, his daughter Debbie said: “It was bad enough knowing what dad wanted but it was his wish, and we’d come to terms with that.

“But now having to watch him refuse drink, refuse food and basically starve himself to death, just because over here they want you to hold on to life, however poor – it is just wrong.

“It’s worse than watching my dad take that drink over in Zurich. It should be law over here that he could die the way he wanted to.”

Tony died at a community hospital near his home in Frome, Somerset, surrounded by his loved ones.

His death comes just days after MPs rejected right to die plans following a vote in the Commons.

English law states that euthanasia is considered as manslaughter or murder, which is illegal.

The suicide act also makes it an offence to assist or encourage suicide.

Tony’s family supported his belief that assisted dying should become law.

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from → the law, tributes

Failure Rates For DLA To PIP Mandatory Reconsideration Soar

September 17, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

There has been a huge and unexplained drop in the success rate of mandatory reconsiderations for disability living allowance (DLA) to personal independence (PIP) claimants. There has been no similar fall in the success rate of challenges to new PIP claims, where the success rate has been lower all along.

Mandatory reconsiderations
Mandatory reconsideration s the process where claimants wishing to challenge a benefits decision have to ask for it to be looked at again by the DWP before they can appeal directly to a tribunal.

The DWP give figures for awards changed, but not whether this was an increase or decrease in the award. However, in the vast majority of cases the award is likely to have been increased.

DLA to PIP
The proportion of mandatory reconsiderations that resulted in a change to the claimant’s award where they were moving from DLA to PIP was initially very high. In the last three months of 2014 it was running at 50% of all mandatory reconsiderations.

However, since then it has fallen repeatedly, until by July of this year the proportion of awards being changed had dropped to just 22% and still falling.

New PIP claims
The situation for mandatory reconsiderations for new PIP claims is very different.

In the last three months of 2014 the proportion of awards changed on mandatory reconsideration was running at 16% – 17%.

By July of this year the figure stood at 14%. Still a fall, but nothing like the over %0% drop for DLA to PIP challenges.

Tribunals work
There is no obvious explanation for the fall in successful challenges, other than the DWP’s desire to reduce the cost of disability benefits by 20%.

However, as we reported last week, the success rate for PIP appeals is currently rising every quarter and now stands at 57%.

So, for claimants, the important thing is not to be ground down by the DWP’s endless refusals, but to try to fight your way through to a tribunal, where your chances of success remain very high.

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from → disability political policies, politics

Work Programme Making Claimants’ Mental Health Worse, Finds Mind Survey

September 17, 2015
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On the day that the DWP is due to release stats on how many people with mental health conditions have been helped by the Work Programme, Paul farmer, CEO of Mind, has written an article for Politics Home.

Here is an extract:

The Work Programme is the Government’s flagship back-to-work scheme – but it is failing people with mental health problems. And if it isn’t working for this group, it’s failing overall, as around half of all ESA claimants are receiving this support primarily due to their mental health. One of the reasons the Work Programme is having little success when it comes to people with mental health problems is that it does not provide tailored support to help people overcome barriers they face in finding and staying in work. What’s more, the pressure to take part in unhelpful or even inappropriate ‘work related activity’ is making many people more unwell. It’s all very well asking people to do things like CV writing courses, but if you’re facing crippling anxiety or suicidal thoughts, it’s not going to do much to help you move into work, especially under the threat of losing your income if you miss the appointment or arrive five minutes late.

Cutting someone’s support for failing to meet certain requirements causes not just financial problems but a great deal of psychological distress too. This punitive approach is backfiring. Mind recently surveyed people whose mental health was the main reason for using back-to-work support through the Work Programme or Jobcentre Plus. A staggering 83 per cent said that this support made their mental health worse or much worse, while 76 per cent said it had led to them feeling less or much less able to work than they were previously. Even the threat of being sanctioned can be enough to cause anxiety. We often hear from people who are filled with dread every time they receive a letter or phone call, in case they’re told the vital support they get from disability benefits has been reduced or stopped altogether.

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from → disability political policies, politics

Madeline Stuart Won New York Fashion Week

September 17, 2015
by

Among all the 6ft tall, size 6 models on the New York Fashion Week catwalks, there was Madeline Stuart – a model with Down’s syndrome making her debut.

The 18-year-old from Brisbane, Australia, is fighting to change the fashion world’s perception of beauty.
And she looked right at home on the runaway as she walked for FTL Moda’s SS16 collection.

Madeline has been hailed an inspiration for her determination to become a high-fashion model and to get the industry to celebrate differences rather than a fixed idea of what a model should look like.

She said she loves clothes and was “so happy” to be on the catwalk in New York, adding: “I want to help more people feel good about themselves.”

Interest in Madeline in the fashion world is growing and next year she’ll be walking for designers in Toyko and Milan fashion weeks.

On her Facebook page she says: “I hope through modelling I can change society’s view of people with disabilities, exposure is creating awareness, acceptance and inclusion.”

All attention seemed to be on Madeleine at the FTL Moda show as she sauntered down the catwalk in a halter top and shorts set, and later an intricate floor-length gown.

She’s also big on Instagram.

Follow Madeline’s modelling journey on Twitter or visit her website.

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from → Famously DisAbled, Fun Stuff, updates

Below Half Of All PIP Claims Are Successful As Award Rates Fall

September 17, 2015
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With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The percentage of claimants getting an award of personal independence payment (PIP) has fallen again, both for new claims and for disability living allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessments.

New PIP claims
According to the latest figures released by the DWP today, just 42% of new claims for PIP were successful in July 2015, compared to 43% in June and 46% in May.

If withdrawn claims are not counted the figures rise by 1% each month, to 43% in July, 44% in June and 47% in May.

At their highest, in March 2014, award rates for new PIP claims were at 62%.

The overall success rate for PIP claims, since the benefit was introduced, now stands at 48%.

DLA to PIP reassessment claims
The figures for DLA to PIP reassessments are much higher, but still following a downward trend.

In July 2015, 69% of reassessment claimants got an award of PIP. In June the figure was 71% and in May 73%.

Again, if withdrawn claims are excluded, the figures increase by 1% each month.

At their highest, in March 2014, award rates for DLA to PIP reassessment claims were at 80%.

The overall success rate for reassessment claims, since the benefit was introduced, now stands at 74%.

Harsher assessments
In the early days of PIP, high success rates were in part due to the fact that terminally ill claimants were taking priority and making up a much higher proportion of the caseload than normal.

But that is no longer the case.

By far the most likely reason for the continuing fall in success rates is that the DWP are continually issuing new guidance to assessors, encouraging them to interpret the law in a more and more restrictive manner so that fewer claimants get awards.

The Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide has been updated three times, since it was first published in April 2013. Each time changes have been made which make it harder for claimants to score points.

No doubt this process will continue until the DWP are certain they have reached their stated goal of cutting the cost of disability benefits by 20%.

 

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from → disability political policies, politics

IB To ESA Transfer Failure Revealed In Latest Stats

September 17, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The number of people in receipt of employment and support allowance (ESA) or incapacity benefit (IB) is set to fall according to the DWP’s early estimates for July 2015, released today. But the fall is tiny and once again raises doubts about the entire IB to ESA transfer process.

According to the latest figures, the number of people in receipt of ESA/IB has fallen from 2,525,000 to 2,515,000 between June and July 2015, after three months when numbers had remained the same.

However, the fall is well under 1% of the total number of claimants.

Moreover, with the transfer of incapacity benefit claimants to ESA nearing its long drawn out end, it is clear that it has been a massive failure in terms of cutting claimant numbers.

Migration began with pilots in October 2010, but didn’t get going properly until 2011. In May 2011 there were 2,570,220 ESA/IB claimant.

So, to date, the claimant count has fallen by less than 2% over the course of almost the entire ESA to IB transfer. And, in reality, it’s entirely possible that numbers would have dropped by at least that amount without any intervention by the government.

So, the real question is: how many lives has such a paltry cut in claimant numbers cost?

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from → disability political policies, politics

The Call Cenntre Star Ursula Presgrave Vile Facebook Post Says Children With Downs Syndrome Should Be Put Down

September 16, 2015
by

An outspoken former cast member of TV show The Call Centre has sparked outrage after claiming children born with Down’s Syndrome should be “put down”.

Ursula Presgrave – who burst onto screens last year as the tattooed, foul-mouthed worker who clashed with boss Nev Wilshire in the show – has previously caused uproar after writing a vile Facebook post about missing child Madeleine McCann.

Now Ursula, from Swansea, has come under fire again for writing that children born with Down Syndrome should be put to death.

She posted on her Facebook page: “Anyone born with down syndrome should be put down, it’s just cruel to let them lead a pointless life of a vegetable.”

‘Created an absolute riot’

More than 550 people have commented on the post with users describing it as “vile”, “sick”, and “attention-seeking”.

One user, Tracy Louise Thomas, 40, from Bridgend, said she was completely outraged by the post.

Ms Thomas said: “She has created an absolute riot with her status. It has gone viral and is causing outrage. “I think she has managed to offend everyone. Nearly 600 people have commented on the post and all of them are outraged.
“I am not even friends with her on Facebook and it showed up on my timeline.

“This girl thinks because she was on TV she can do and say what she likes. Something needs to be done.

‘Hateful and offensive’

“My niece suffers from Down’s Syndrome so a lot of the things she said hit home. She’s using other people’s suffering to draw attention. It’s disgusting.”

Ms Thomas said she contacted Facebook asking them to take Ursula’s post and profile offline but claimed they had declined to do so.

She said: “I reported it to Facebook and told them I wanted the post taken down because it was hurtful, hateful and offensive.

“Around 15 minutes later they got back to me and said they had reviewed the post and her profile and they could not take it down because it did not breach their codes of conduct or standards.

“It’s ridiculous.”

We have asked Facebook for a response.

Amy Clarke from Mencap said: “I was shocked and upset to hear the hurtful comments that Ursula Presgrave made about people with a learning disability. I have a learning disability and lead a full and independent life. I do the same things as everybody else; I have a job, friends and enjoy watching TV and films. I think that as somebody in the public eye, she has a responsibility to think before she speaks. It is hurtful to make comments like this and she should apologise for them.”

Madeleine McCann ‘joke’

A number of people expressed their disgust on the post to which Ursula replied with comments such as “YAWN” and “Next joke?”

The 24-year-old was roundly criticised last year after posting what she called a “joke” about Madeleine McCann on her page.

She wrote: “Hate to tell you darling but you look like a r***d version of Madeline (sic) McCann, just saying”.
Speaking at the time she said: “It was a joke and there are jokes out there worse than that.

“It was not really aimed at Madeleine McCann, it was not aimed at anyone particularly.”

Ursula has not responded to requests for a comment.

8 Comments
from → mainstream madness

IMPORTANT An Assessment Tip From Fightback

September 16, 2015
by

Spotted on Fightback’s Facebook page. Please share widely.

Assessment tip
Do you know if you get an assessment appointment through, and are not given 7 days notice of it, then you can have it changed without it affecting your one chance to change the appointment.

Make sure when you ring them that they understand you were not given adequate notice, as explained in their own assessor handbook for ATOS and Capita, and rearrange. You can rearrange usually over the phone to an appointment that suits you better (time permitting,) and usually they can only do this up to 2 weeks in advance, sometimes 3. Alternatively you can ask for a computer generated one to be posted, but be warned, it can spit out one that is a 40 mile trip away if not manually selected.

If you want to change an appointment because its inconvenient, you generally can do this once only by calling the number on the letter. If they say no then ring back. There are quite a few advisors who don’t appear to understand the rules, and generally you will get a more helpful one if you redial.

Most importantly READ our notes before you go to ensure you know what to expect. Michelle

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from → disability political policies, politics

Muscular Dystrophy UK Report Highlights Devastating Effect Of The Housing Crisis On Disabled People

September 16, 2015
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A charity has highlighted the “devastating” impact that the housing crisis is having on disabled people in England, with some being forced to choose between struggling in an unsuitable property or racking up huge debts attempting to adapt it.

Muscular Dystrophy UK, which compiled the report, said there is an alarming lack of accessible housing in many parts of the country.

It found that some councils in England have more than 100 households waiting for wheelchair-accessible homes.

The charity said that a lack of wheelchair-accessible housing is having a “devastating impact on households”.

Cases it has seen include a 61-year-old man who has a muscle-wasting condition and cannot afford to adapt his bathroom, meaning he has been unable to have a shower or a bath for a year.

It also highlighted the case of a 15-year-old boy with a life-limiting condition, whose family were left with £15,000-worth of credit card debt after adapting their home.

Some parents were having to carry their children upstairs due to their property being inaccessible, the charity said.

Between July and August 2015, the charity carried out a survey of people living with muscle-wasting conditions, to find out about their experiences of getting accessible housing and carrying out adaptations to their home.

It also submitted freedom of information (FOI) requests to local authorities in England, to find out what support was being offered.

The Breaking Point report surveyed nearly 300 people who had been offered a home by their council – of which 70% said the property was unsuitable. Over a third said they had faced serious financial hardship trying to adapt their home.

FOI requests made by the charity to councils in England found that in Harlow, for example, 166 households were waiting for wheelchair-accessible homes, while in Camden this figure was 122 and in the Blackburn with Darwen council area 155 households were found to be waiting.

The charity is calling for local authorities to act urgently, with the help of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). It said they should ensure that at least 10% of all new houses within new developments are wheelchair accessible.

It said the maximum grant of £30,000 to make a home liveable in has not increased since 2008, meaning that many people are facing spending thousands of pounds of their own money to adapt basic facilities.

Nic Bungay, director of campaigns, care and information for Muscular Dystrophy UK, said: “People are being forced to choose between struggling in a home they cannot use or getting into vast sums of debt in order to adapt their property themselves…

“For too long, local authorities have failed to ensure that new developments include enough wheelchair-accessible housing.”

A DCLG spokeswoman said: “The Government is committed to helping disabled people live as comfortably and independently as possible in their own homes.

“We have invested just over £1 billion through the Disabled Facilities Grants since 2010 to fund adaptations to homes. This has helped thousands of disabled people live safely at home, funding around 170,000 adaptations, but we are always listening to the sector to see how we can best provide for those most in need.

“We are also getting Britain building again with more than 570,000 new homes built since April 2010.”

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from → disability political policies, politics

North London Indonesian Restaurant, Jakarta, Refuses Deaf Man’s Hearing Dog

September 16, 2015
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A north London restaurant may face legal action after allegedly refusing to allow a profoundly deaf man to bring in his specially-trained hearing dog.

Author Michael Forester, 59, says he was left feeling “worthless” after being “illegally” turned away from Indonesian restaurant Jakarta in Colindale earlier this month.

He arrived with his assistance dog Matt for a meal with his daughter and her partner, but says he was met with horrified looks and told to leave.

   Mr Forester attempted to stand his ground, saying the restaurant was legally obliged to allow the dog in under the Equality Act, but was eventually forced to dine elsewhere.

“I felt worthless, like I was not good enough to eat in this restaurant,” he told the Standard.

“The manager said he wasn’t letting me in and that I didn’t need the dog because I was with two other people.

“I felt about four inches tall when having this conversation in front of all those fellow diners – it’s just not good enough.”

The former businessman, who is working on his first novel, was determined to stand up for the rights of disabled of people and sent the restaurant a formal letter of complaint.

He has vowed to pursue the matter through the courts if he does not receive a satisfactory reply.

“My feeling is it’s my duty on the part of all disabled people not to take it when our rights are ignored,” he said.

Mr Forester was first diagnosed with hearing problems aged 30 and has had spaniel cross Matt for 12 years, thanks to the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

The dogs help their owners to get around safely and alert them to crucial sounds they cannot hear, such as fire alarms.

The writer published a book titled If It Wasn’t For That Dog! which details how Matt “changed his life”, helping to bring him “back out into society” after he used to avoid going out due to his deafness.

“He has given me the best 12 years of my life in the time we have been together and I owe him more than I can possibly express,” he said.

The Evening Standard was unable to reach the restaurant for a response.

However, manager Peter Siswoo reportedly told the Brent & Kilburn Times: “There doesn’t seem to be a reason for this.

“He could have left his dog outside so I think he’s being a little bit unreasonable.

“The man had his daughter and her partner there, what could the dog do to help him that they couldn’t?

“There’s no real genuine reason for him to bring the dog into the restaurant and that’s what upset everyone at the time.”

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from → mainstream madness

Alton Towers Smiler Crash Amputee Victoria Balch, 20, Speaks Of Amputation ‘Relief’

September 16, 2015
by

A woman who required a leg amputation following a rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers theme park has described the operation as a “relief”.

Victoria Balch, 20, from Lancashire, had six rounds of surgery in a bid to to save her leg.

But she told the Victoria Derbyshire programme the pain had become a burden following an infection.

Ms Balch was one of five people who sustained serious injuries on the Smiler ride on 2 June.

She was sitting in the front of the ride alongside Leah Washington, Joe Pugh and Daniel Thorpe, when it hit an empty carriage.

The crash left them and 12 other people trapped 25ft (7.6m) above the ground. They were rescued by firefighters using a hydraulic platform.

‘Unable to move’

Ms Balch said: “After the third operation it was looking good – I thought I might be able to walk again.

“But the bad news came before my seventh operation, by which time I was exhausted. I had spent so much time asleep.

“My mum noticed something going on with my leg. I had stopped being able to move as well, and people started needing to help me move around again.”

Her right leg had become infected and required an amputation. More acute surgery followed to extend the amputation above the knee, on the advice of her surgeon.

Ms Balch described losing her leg as feeling “like a burden had been taken away”.

“The leg was so painful that I couldn’t do anything with it,” she added.

Learning to walk

Ms Balch has been receiving physiotherapy at the Specialist Mobility Rehabilitation Centre in Preston.

She has now progressed onto crutches, having previously used a wheelchair, and has recently been provided with her own prosthetic with which she can begin learning to walk again.

It is a process she says left her “shaking” with apprehension during the first attempt, but the University of Derby student has a clear goal.

“I’m graduating in November, so I want to be able to walk with a crutch. I just want a leg so at graduation I can say ‘look how far I’ve come’.

Ms Balch said that while most people have been supportive, she had also encountered “staring and pointing” while shopping for the first time following the crash.

She said of Alton Towers: “I do think they’re doing everything they can for the families.”

Ms Balch said she had received weekly visits from staff following the crash.

“It’s not their fault personally – they’re normal people that have families,” she added.

Merlin Entertainment, which owns the theme park, said it had contacted those injured and all 16 on board at the time of the crash will receive compensation. It said the incident was the first accident in the company’s history.

Lawyer Paul Paxton, from Stewarts Law, who is representing Ms Balch among other crash victims, told the BBC in June that victims had received their first interim insurance payments to help with their rehabilitation.

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from → DisAbility in the News, updates

Direct Action Wins Victory At Edinburgh JobCentre

September 15, 2015
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Claimants responded to a solidarity call-out by Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty and besieged High Riggs Jobcentre in Edinburgh on the morning of 14th September.  This direct action and solidarity won a tremendous victory as the DWP gave in and agreed that jobseeker Adam could be accompanied to his appointment by ECAP activist Mike, without the requirement to show any ID.

This was a complete U turn from the repressive approach taken by High Riggs management on 10th September.  Then they arrogantly demanded that Adam’s ECAP accompanier produce photographic ID, and when this unreasonable demand was refused, called the police to try and evict him. The entire ground floor of the Jobcentre was shut down for 3 hours on the 10th as more ECAP members entered to show solidarity.  The police even threatened jobseeker Adam, as well as ECAP activists, with arrest for “Aggravated Trespass”.

JOBCENTRE BOSSES UNDER SIEGE

Initially the 14th saw Jobcentreplus managers try to maintain this hard line. Manager Aileen McBrierty, flanked by G4S security, stood clipboard in hand at the doorway.  Vetting all entering the Jobcentre, she point-blank refused to permit Adam to proceed to his appointment with ECAP accompanier Mike – Mike however walked into the Jobcentre foyer anyway, and took McBrierty to task over her denial of claimants’ human rights.  As he quoted the DWP’s own statement that claimants had the right to be accompanied, the crowd moved forward towards the entrance and more demonstrators voiced their anger, demanding to know on whose authority McBrierty was acting.

The stand-off continued for some time, with the demonstrators’ denunciations and determination to win justice for Adam and the rights of all claimants growing in strength. G4S security appeared helpless as the situation became increasingly uncomfortable for the DWP bosses.  Eventually the Jobcentreplus Area manager declared the appointment could go ahead.  The demand to show ID was completely dropped.  Possibly to try to save face, management said the appointment would take place in a screened booth: if this absurd arrangement continues, it may need to be challenged in future.

Now inside, Adam and Mike still had one more battle to fight.  They insisted that Adam should not meet with adviser Gerry, who on the 10th had completely ignored Adam’s request that his appointment be postponed so he could visit the hospital where his brother was at that moment undergoing an emergency operation.  After first insisting that Adam must meet with Gerry, Jobcentreplus management backed down and a manager conducted the interview.  This only lasted a few minutes with no recurrence of past referrals to workfare or any other harrassment. 

IF YOU EXPLOIT US, WE WILL SHUT YOU DOWN

ECAP activist Esther McDonald said: “We hope that this action will mark a growing counter-power through which claimants can make it increasingly difficult for the DWP to impose sanctions, workfare and other attacks.  Jobcentre management need to know that if they attack claimants, then we will take direct action to make jobcentres unworkable.  

Solidarity and direct action from below is the way to fight against benefit cuts, against all austerity, and against the profit-driven capitalist society which produces these injustices.  Our message to all bosses is this – If you exploit us, we will shut you down.”

Now ECAP and other activist groups are building for Britain-wide Days of Action on 12th / 13th October in solidarity with Scottish Unemployed Workers Network activist Tony Cox, on trial for accompanying a jobseeker at Arbroath Jobcentre.  Activists will leaflet Jobcentres, and descend on Forfar Sheriff Court from 9am on the 13th.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON THE RIGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED

FOOTAGE OF THE SOLIDARITY ACTION AT HIGH RIGGS http://livestream.com/IndependenceLive/AdvocacyIsNotACrime

MORE AT ECAP FACEBOOK

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from → disability political policies, politics, progress, updates

LSE Should Treat Disabled Students With Humanity

September 15, 2015
by

A petition I’ve just signed at Change.org.

Over the past year, a top London university, The London School of Economics, has thoroughly failed in providing an adequate service to a disabled student. The full story is available via buzzfeed, http://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisburt/show-me-the-money-lse-pays-lip-service-to-disabi-1e79e, however, to give a brief summary, here is a snapshot:

A disabled student has suffered 12 months of mismanagement and lack of compassion by LSE since moving to London to study a masters degree. She has been placed in unsuitable accommodation, been declined requests for compensation or help, and has been left in a situation whereby her education, health and career prospects have been impacted. 

The student is now seeking to repeat her teaching year at LSE, in order to complete her degree she has not been able to accomplish this year. She wants this to be paid for by LSE, and for compensation to be provided for her accomodation costs, given the injustice she has experienced. However, even greater – she wants this experience to not be repeated, and for LSE to change the way their treatment of disabled students and show more humanity – something we all deserve!

By signing this petition we can raise awareness of this shocking episode and hold LSE to account for their failures which they are blatently ignoring, whilst this petition will give hope to other students who find themselves in similarly unfortunate situations.

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Quadruple Amputee Alex Lewis “Unable To Get Best Prosthetic”

September 15, 2015
by

In November 2013, what Alex Lewis thought was “man flu” turned out to be a streptococcal infection (type A) which had penetrated deep into his tissues and organs.

It had triggered blood poisoning, or sepsis, a life-threatening condition that causes multiple organ failure – and left him in need of facial reconstruction and the amputation of four infected limbs.

Speaking to the Victoria Derbyshire programme, he explains his battle to be provided with the best prosthetic for his needs.

The micro-processor knee joints that would allow him to walk with stability are not available to him on the NHS in England.

Read Alex Lewis’s full story here.

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from → interviews

Premier League Football Clubs To Make Changes For Disabled Fans

September 15, 2015
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All Premier League clubs have agreed to improve access for disabled supporters by August 2017.

A 2014 BBC investigation found that 17 of England’s top-flight clubs failed to provide enough wheelchair spaces.

At the moment, 15 out of 20 clubs will have to increase capacity to comply with guidelines on accessible stadiums.

Earlier on Monday, a government report had criticised the inadequate facilities and support for disabled fans at Premier League grounds.

Minister for disabled people Justin Tomlinson MP had said “common sense can fix” some issues, but accepted other areas “will need some work”.

“Frankly, some of it is disgraceful,” he told BBC Sport. “There isn’t provision in some grounds, supporters are split up or are put in with the away fans. I find that totally unacceptable.

“We are in the last chance saloon with those football bodies saying: ‘You need to get your house in order.’ We need to get this addressed.”

A Premier League statement said: “We are undertaking our own assessment by surveying every Premier League stadium to determine improvements for disabled access.

“Disability access was discussed at the Premier League shareholders meeting last week with several new proposals agreed.”

Monday’s report – done jointly by the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Culture, Media and Sport – recommends:

  • Planning attendance: Clubs should provide attendance for all groups of disabled people. They should provide information such as stadium distance from local parking and gradient of pavements.
  • Buying a ticket: Clubs should allow disabled spectators to buy tickets online. They should provide wheelchair seating that allows disabled spectators to sit with family and friends.
  • Travelling to and from the venue: Clubs should provide up to date transport information.
  • Overall experience: Match day and club stewards should be given disability awareness training, while abusive behaviour towards disabled spectators should not be tolerated.
  • Aids and adaptations: Clubs should increase the number of wheelchair user places for stadiums with more than 10,000 seats.

In August, a survey carried out by charity Revitalise before the start of the new Premier League season suggested that many clubs are continuing to fail disabled fans.

It followed the second reading of the Accessible Sports Grounds Bill  in the House of Lords in July, where Lord Holmes of Richmond – Britain’s most successful Paralympic swimmer – called on Premier League sponsors and broadcasters to pull out of football unless progress was made in providing facilities for disabled fans.

In June, top-flight clubs were threatened with legal action after the Equality and Human Rights Commission said it had received a number of complaints, including about Manchester United removing walking aids from away fans.

At the time United said it was “actively working” with its own disabled supporters association and the Premier League to “assess areas for potential improvement”.

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Liverpool’s Yee Rah Thai Restaurant Orders Blind Young Woman To Leave Because Of Her Guide Dog

September 14, 2015
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A vulnerable blind teenager was ordered to leave by the boss of a Liverpool city centre restaurant because she had her guide dog with her.

The incident took place at the Yee Rah Thai restaurant in Paradise Street, part of the Liverpool One complex.

The mum of the 19-year-old woman, who is from Ormskirk but has asked not to be named, said her daughter had been left in tears by the restaurant manager’s actions.

She said: “My daughter visited the restaurant with a friend and they had just ordered two glasses of coke when the manager came over and told them they had to leave because pets were not allowed.

“It was perfectly clear it was a working or assistance dog but the manager said: ‘I don’t care, you’ve got to leave.’

“He did tell them they could sit outside with the dog. She was absolutely mortified by what happened and she came home very distressed and frustrated.

“She just wants to be treated the same as everyone else and to be able to go to a restaurant with confidence.”

The teenager’s guide dog, a two-year-old Labrador retriever called Leo, had his status clearly indicated by a harness and signs saying ‘do not distract me, I’m a working dog.’

Her mum added: “The guide dog is the best thing that’s ever happened to her. He’s changed her life and she wouldn’t have gone out without him.”

Her case has been taken up by assistant Mayor and city centre councillor Nick Small, who said: “All restaurants should be accessible to all people in the city and it’s disgusting that people are treated in this way.

“I’m calling on Yee Rah to give an explanation about this. I’m demanding they are accessible to everyone and allow working dogs to come into the restaurant.”

The incident has already attracted negative comments on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

Yee Rah’s brand manager Rachael Clarke, said: “It absolutely is our policy to allow guide dogs into our restaurants. The conversation is between us and the guest and the investigation is ongoing. “It is our company policy across all restaurants that guide dogs are allowed to come in.”

A spokesperson for Liverpool One said: “We are concerned to hear about this but it is a matter for Yee Rah to comment on.”

Under the Equality Act, disabled people have the same right to services supplied by shops, banks, hotels, libraries, pubs, taxis and restaurants as everyone else.

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from → mainstream madness

Luciana Berger MP Is Corbyn’s Shadow Minister For Mental Health

September 14, 2015
by

Jeremy Corbyn has appointed a shadow “Minister for Mental Health” to his shadow cabinet, Labour has announced.

Luciana Berger will directly work on mental health issues and consider how they can best be addressed by the NHS and prioritised by a Labour government.

The post, which is Cabinet-level, is a new creation of Mr Corbyn’s shadow administration and has no identical counterpart in the Conservative government.

“We have delivered a unifying, dynamic, inclusive new Shadow Cabinet which for the first time ever has a majority of women,” Mr Corbyn said in a statement.

“I am delighted that we have established a Shadow Cabinet position for mental health which is a matter I have long been interested in.”

The Government currently rolls responsibility for mental health into a junior care minister position. The new role will report to the Shadow Health Secretary at the Department of Health.

Mr Corbyn spent his first day as leader attending a fundraiser organised by his local NHS mental health trust. He was criticised in the press for attending the event in lieu of a planned appearing on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.

In a speech in Parliament in February this year Mr Corbyn explained his attitude to mental health and why he thought the subject was so important.

“All of us can go through depression; all of us can go through those experiences. Every single one of us in this Chamber knows people who have gone through it, and has visited people who have been in institutions and have fully recovered and gone back to work and continued their normal life,” he said.

“I dream of the day when this country becomes as accepting of these problems as some Scandinavian countries are, where one Prime Minister was given six months off in order to recover from depression, rather than being hounded out of office as would have happened on so many other occasions.”

Mr Corbyn said at the time that he believed access to “timely and appropriate” treatment was the biggest issue for mental healthcare, alongside the recognition of mental disabilities by the Department for Work and Pensions.

“I have had far too many anecdotal reports from constituents and others who go for a Department for Work and Pensions availability for work test,” he said. 

“If they have a physical disability, it is usually fairly obvious and it can be quantified and, we hope, taken into account in how the interview and test are conducted. If somebody has a mental health condition, it is not so obvious and cannot be so easily quantified.

“There are far too many cases where the stress levels are unbelievable for people who have been forced into these tests.”

Mr Corybn unveiled his full shadow cabinet today in an announcement.

Other notable offices include John McDonnell as Chancellor, Andy Burnham as Home Secretary, Hilary Benn as Foreign Secretary, Heidi Alexander as Health Secretary, and Angela Eagle as Business Secretary.

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from → disability political policies, politics, progress

Bradley Warwick Hopes To Win Place In The Paraorchestra

September 14, 2015
by

A Bristol-based orchestra has begun using technology to enable disabled musicians to showcase their talent.

The BBC documentary-makers, Inside Out West have been following the journey of Bradley Warwick.

The hope is that he can win a place within the Open up Music orchestra, the regional orchestra created by the musical conductor, Charles Hazelwood.

Here, Bradley talks about his love of music and hopes to secure a place.

Inside Out West will be broadcast on Monday, at 19:30 BST on BBC One in the West.

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National charity launches inquiry to highlight the problems children with multiple needs encounter accessing play opportunities

September 14, 2015
by

A press release from Srnse:

 

– Inquiry calls for evidence from specialists and parents of children with multiple needs –

– Former Secretary of State for Education & Employment, David Blunkett, to Chair inquiry –

– National deafblind charity, Sense, will issue inquiry report in early 2016 –

 

(London, UK) 14 September 2015 – Sense, the national deafblind charity, has launched ‘The Case for Play’ inquiry into the provision of play opportunities for children aged 0-5 with multiple needs, in England and Wales. Sense is calling for evidence from parents of children with multiple needs, specialists from the disability sector and practitioners. The inquiry report will be issued in early 2016.

Play is a crucial part of every child’s development, helping them to develop social and communication skills. However, children with multiple needs often face barriers to accessing and enjoying play. Today, Sense, who have supported and campaigned for people with multiple impairments for the last 60 years, would like families and professionals to come forward to share their experiences of the issue.

Former Secretary of State for Education and Employment, David Blunkett, will chair the inquiry, alongside Lesley Rogers, a parent of a deafblind child with multiple needs.  Julie Jennings, from RNIB, will provide expert guidance.

The evidence submitted to the inquiry will form the basis of a report setting out recommendations for national and local government and organisations that provide play opportunities.

The Inquiry will focus on answering the following questions:

  • What is the impact of play for children with multiple needs and their families?
  • Do barriers exist to young children with multiple needs accessing play settings and activities?
  • What can be done to increase play opportunities for young children with multiple needs?

Former Secretary of State for Education and Employment, David Blunkett said: “I believe that play is an essential part of a child’s development. It’s how we begin to understand the world around us. I hope that this inquiry will help lift the lid on the barriers that are preventing children with multiple needs from enjoying play activities, and potentially holding back their development.”

 

Sense Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Kramer said: “We know from our experience working with deafblind children and families that play settings and activities are not always accessible to children with multiple needs. As an example, parents and professionals often need more support to understand how to engage disabled children in play successfully.  The inquiry will show the extent of the problem and help us to outline recommendations to improve the situation. We hope that parents and specialists take the opportunity to share their views and experiences.”

 

How to submit evidence:

There are several ways parents and professionals can submit evidence the inquiry.  These include taking part in online surveys, attending focus groups and responding in writing. To find out how to get involved visit: https://www.sense.org.uk/content/play.

The deadline for the submission of evidence is 27 November 2015.

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from → publicity

Welfare System Doesn’t Make Sense For People With MS, Says MS Society Report

September 14, 2015
by

Having MS is enough

It shouldn’t be made harder by a welfare system that doesn’t make sense for people living with the condition. Welfare support is vital for many people with MS. It helps them to manage the extra costs of the condition, stay in work for longer and participate fully in society.

Yet the current system is not making sense, too often ignoring invisible symptoms like pain and fatigue and failing to recognise how MS can fluctuate. Benefits assessors do not always take evidence provided by professionals into account, and too often people with MS are under pressure to repeatedly prove they need support. 

Sign our petition to make welfare make sense

That’s why we’re campaigning to make welfare make sense 

We are calling on the UK Government to make welfare make sense.

  • Disability benefits assessments must accurately take into account the fluctuating and hidden symptoms of MS and their impact.
  • The disability benefits system must take adequate account of evidence from experienced professionals who understand the person’s condition.
  • Existing criteria which do not reflect the barriers faced by people with MS should be changed.
  • People with MS must be able to rely on support when they need it, without unnecessary burden or constant fear of having it taken away.

Sign our petition to make welfare make sense

What’s the evidence? 

We surveyed 1,780 people with MS about the role of disability benefits in their lives and their experience of the disability benefits system.

  • Over half (57%) said that benefits assessments do not accurately determine the impact of their MS
  • More than a third said face to face assessments had caused their MS to relapse or deteriorate
  • Many told us they are having to make difficult choices including whether they can afford to buy basic essentials, attend hospital appointments or spend time with family and friends.

Hidden symptoms overlooked

In particular, the hidden symptoms of MS (such as pain, fatigue and cognitive difficulties) are not always adequately captured. 42% of those who had a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) face-to-face assessment disagreed that the assessor considered their hidden symptoms. 50% of those who had a Work Capability Assessment (WCA) for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) disagreed that hidden symptoms were considered.

You can download the full report from the link above.

There is also this campaign video:

 

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from → disability political policies, politics

DWP Apologise For Calling Police To Edinburgh JobCentre And Confirm Claimants’ Right To Advocacy

September 14, 2015
by

The DWP have apologised and admitted they were wrong to call the police to eject an Edinburgh Claimants representative from the High Riggs Job Centre at Tollcross, Edinburgh. This re-affirms that claimants always
have the right to be accompanied by their own choice of representative and is an important victory for claimants’ right to organise.

The rep from the Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty-affiliated group was accompanying a jobseeker to an appointment to review his Job Seekers Agreement on 3rd February. A manager unexpectedly joined the interview,
started aggressively questioning the rep, and then ordered him to leave. The rep refused, pointing out that all claimants have the right to be accompanied.

The manager then ordered the security guards to call the police to evict the rep. Unfortunately for the bullying manager the police took half an hour to arrive and the interview continued to its conclusion with the
rep continuing to participate. When the police arrived they ordered the rep to leave and took his name, but did not charge him.

The Jobcentre manager denied claimants’ rights in this way despite the fact that Edinburgh Claimants reps have been accompanying jobseekers and other claimants to such interviews for years, and do so virtually every
week.

Solidarity

Edinburgh Claimants immediately made an official complaint to the DWP and later that week a group from Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty gathered for solidarity activity at the High Riggs Job Centre,
displaying placards and distributing hundreds of leaflets to claimants detailing the right to be accompanied to all interviews.

The next day High Riggs management wrote to the rep stating : “I would like to apologise on behalf of Mr X (the offending manager) and High Riggs for the fact that you were asked to leave the jobcentre on the above date. …. you should have been allowed to remain as Mr Y ‘s representative. We apologise for the incident and for any distress caused….. We aim to provide our customers and their representatives with a good standard of service and I am very sorry that we did not do so on this occasion.”
(Letter from DWP dated 7.2.14)

“Claimants should not be intimidated by Jobcentre bullies. The DWP’s apology re-affirms once more that ALL claimants have the right to be accompanied to appointments by the representative of their choice. This does not only apply to claimants who are particularly vulnerable or have special needs, but to everyone. And this holds true not only for appointments at the Job Centre, but also for all appointments at any DWP offices, at workfare providers like A4e and Ingeus, at ATOS, at the Council and all authorities, ” state ECAP. “At a time when the government are attacking claimants with benefits cuts, sanctions, workfare and ever more harassment, we urge claimants to exercise this hard-won right. Solidarity is strength. Don’t face them alone!”

NOTE
ECAP have long established the right of claimants to be accompanied at such interviews. The DWP chief executive has even written to confirm this! See http://www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/node/32

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from → disability political policies, politics, progress, updates

Analysis Of Results Of A Million Work Capability Assessments

September 13, 2015
by

A disabled blogger called Jonathan Hume, at a blog called Wordthings of Jon, has analysed the results of a million Work Capability Assessments. He has tried to explain the bias in the Work Capability Assessment in a long write-up of his study, which I thought might interest some of you.

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from → disability political policies, links and plugs, politics

Take Your Own ESA Test Online

September 13, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

Benefits and Work has created an online form which allows you to assess yourself using the new ESA work capability assessment just by clicking with your mouse  . . . rather like a Maximus  health professional

Our online test takes you through the work capability assessment, the test used to decide whether you are eligible for employment and support allowance (ESA), and if so, whether you should be in the work-related activity group (WRAG) or the support group.

It covers:

Points for the work-related activity group
Descriptors for the support group
Exemptions
Exceptional circumstances

But please be aware that a decision maker using a report from a Maximus health professional may not reach the same conclusion that you do about your eligibility for employment and support allowance.

Our online ESA test will tell you whether you assess yourself as being eligible for ESA and if so in which group. 

If you assess yourself as being in the ESA support group, it will also tell you the ways in which you qualified for the work-related activity group. Many people may potentially qualify for the work-related activity group in more than one way – for example by scoring two different 15 point descriptors or by being covered by the exceptional circumstances rules, as well as scoring points. 

If you know the different ways you may qualify, you can ensure you give evidence about all of them in your questionnaire and at your medical, in case your evidence relating to the support group or one way of qualifying for the WRAG is not accepted.

The ESA test is anonymous and the results will appear in your browser as soon as you have completed the four pages of multiple choice questions.  But, if you wish, you can also have your ESA results emailed to you.

You can start the ESA test here BUT PLEASE NOTE using the back button will delete the answers you have given and if you spend more than about 10 minutes on a page the form will time out.

Good luck.

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from → disability political policies, politics

Research Request: People Claiming JSA Because They Are No Longer Eligible For ESA

September 13, 2015
by

An email I’ve just received:

Hello,

My name is Rose and I am currently doing a research project as part of my Master’s course on the experiences of those who have had to claim JSA due to no longer being eligible for ESA. I was wondering if you would be willing to post a link to my survey to any of your followers (perhaps on your blog or on the forum) who might be interested in sharing their experiences.
Here is the link:
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from → emails

Another Anonymous DWP/Maximus Death

September 13, 2015
by

With many thanks to ATOS Miracles:

A friend of the AM admins sadly passed last week
Brother C has been in touch with his widow

Just an excerpt she has said its ok to share
>>
Maximus did my husbands assessment for pip last August- he applied for pip and ESA following a serious illness the year before.
As you know the illness was unforeseen and was not as a result of lifestyle choices other than to try and do all the right things in life.

Maximus did nothing wrong and the decision makers at the dwp awarded him pip and ESA SG – he was assessed by atos for ESA.

We’d been living on my wage since his illness and because I was working we were entitled to nothing for rent and so forth.
He followed Drs orders to the letter and was well on the path to recovery.
He had embarked on an OU degree and had distinctions in every piece of work. By next spring he would be fully qualified and was in line to get a first on his degree
He was planning on being able to work self employed in his new profession. He looked forward to returning to the fold of the tax payer as he had been all his life.

Even if he had had millions he would always have paid tax as he always said it was right that those of us who have, give a hand up to those who need a bit of help.

Pip is supposed to be for exactly what he was using it for – the extra expenses of living with a disability but he was looking forward to the day that he could just ring up and say he didn’t need the pip anymore that he had recovered and whilst recovering had done a degree and retrained.

Two weeks ago he had a pip reassessment form through. A three year award that he waited 13 months for, gave him just 11 months without the stress of being made to feel like a benefits scrounger.
He called them and was told that ‘this is a new thing. We are sending to people a year before their award ends but there’s nothing to worry about’
He did worry, he was beyond worry. The nightmare was back.
I found his pip award letter when I was getting his driving licence and birth certificate to take to the registrars office to collect his death certificate.
It says on there that they would be in touch from 14 weeks before the award ends in August 2016

So they lied to him for the last time.
He had a massive stroke the evening he finished completing the new form.

His suffering is over, mine begins anew every time I have to see his empty chair, give the funeral arrangements to dozens of friends who are shocked and heartbroken, every single minute is hell.
Nothing anybody says or does can stop this from being an open sore

Thank you for all your help *C* and it would be nice to stay in touch

Well done ids, Cameron and Osborne – another young mans life over.
He won’t appear on any statistics but those in my heart and that doesn’t matter because it’s already broken into thousands of pieces.

4 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

PIP Appeals Now Outnumber ESA Appeals

September 12, 2015
by

With many thanks to Benefits And Work.

The latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that, for the first time, more personal independence payment (PIP) appeals are being lodged than employment and support allowance (ESA)appeals. The success rates for claimants appealing a PIP decision have also increased dramatically.

Appeal numbers begin to climb
In the first quarter of 2015/16 the number of ESA appeals lodged was 13,502. But in the same quarter 14,751 PIP appeals were lodged, making PIP the most appealed benefit for the first time.

ESA appeals have fallen from a high of 111,795 in the first quarter of 2013/14 to a low of 8,703 in the first quarter of 2014/15 and have since begun rising slowly again to their current level.

The massive drop is primarily due to the introduction of the mandatory revision before appeal system, which makes it much harder to get to the stage of lodging an appeal.

Overall, tribunal numbers are on the rise again, however, after a massive slump following the introduction of mandatory reconsideration before appeal.

They fell from a high of 160,077 lodged in the first quarter of 2013/14, down to 22,687 in the first quarter of 2014/15. In the first quarter of 2015/16 they had risen to 38,828.

This is still less than a quarter of the previous level and what is still not clear is how many mandatory reconsiderations are taking place and what proportion of those are successful.

More claimants win their appeals
Disability living allowance (DLA) appeal success rates for claimants have risen over time, although the number of appeals decided has fallen dramatically.

In the first quarter of 2013/14, the success rate for DLA claimants was 40% of 16,229 appeals. This has risen to 56% of claimants winning 2,435 appeals in the first quarter of 2015/16.

The picture for ESA is very similar.

ESA success rates have risen from 42% of 77,289 appeals in the first quarter of 2013/14up to 58% of 12,101 appeals in the first quarter of 2015/16.

PIP success rates for claimants have risen from 26% of 81 appeals in quarter 4 of 2013/14 – the first time there were any PIP appeals – to 57% of 7,931 appeals in the first quarter of 2015/16.

The proportion of claimants who have won their PIP appeal has risen every quarter until they are now on a par with DLA and ESA appeals.

This is puzzling.

Mandatory reconsideration mystery
Mandatory reconsideration before appeal was introduced for PIP in April 2013 and for DLA and ESA in October 2013.

This should mean that all the most obvious wrong decisions by the DWP are overturned before they ever get to appeal. This should mainly leave the less likely to succeed and hardest to judge appeals going forward to tribunal.

In those circumstances you would expect the DWP’s success rate to increase. It is undoubtedly what the DWP expected to happen. Instead it has fallen considerably.

It is clear we need to know a lot more about what is happening at the mandatory reconsideration and appeal stage. But, as ever, the DWP are trying to keep those figures as vague and inaccessible as possible.

Benefits and Work is now attempting to obtain more information about mandatory reconsiderations. Meanwhile, the message is clear: appealing is very definitely not a waste of time.

7 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

Parents of sailor lost at sea to fund the purchase of Wheelyboat at the Southampton Boat Show‏

September 12, 2015
by

A press release:

Crewman’s family to fund the purchase of the latest Wheelyboat at the Southampton Boat Show and experience the V20 model for themselves

At 2:00 pm this Sunday 13 September, Graham and Lorraine Male, parents of Cheeki Rafiki crewman James Male, will be visiting The Wheelyboat Trust stand M408 at Southampton Boat Show to see for themselves a Coulam V20 Wheelyboat, similar to the one they are fundraising for on behalf of QE2 Activity Centre.  They will present a cheque to Phil Oates, Manager of QE2 Activity Centre, towards the cost of the boat and be taken afloat by Andy Beadsley, Director of The Wheelyboat Trust.

In May 2014 Graham and Lorraine Male lost their son, James, when the yacht Cheeki Rafiki foundered mid Atlantic. Learning about the QE2 Activity Centre from friends and recognising that the centre shared their son’s enthusiasm for introducing young people to outdoor activities, they decided they would like to offer practical support to the charity.

For almost forty years QE2 Activity Centre, by the Hamble River in Hampshire, has been providing activity opportunities for people with disabilities.   Over the years the Centre has enabled thousands of people to get afloat, using canoes, kayaks and a pontoon boat.

As Phil Oates, Manager of QE2 Activity Centre explains, “We want to make sure that everyone has access to the river, so we have built up a range of boats to cater for people of all abilities”.

“Last year we were approached by Graham and Lorraine who wanted to celebrate James’ love of watersports by supporting the centre.  They raised enough money to purchase five sit-on-top kayaks – but their efforts didn’t stop there. They knew we wanted to buy a new wheelchair accessible motorboat, so they kept on fundraising.”

Now, with the support of The Wheelyboat Trust, the centre will soon be purchasing a Coulam V20 powerboat. The Wheelyboat Trustis a national charity that provides disabled people with the opportunity and freedom to enjoy water-based activities all over the UK, for sport, wildlife watching, recreation or rehabilitation purposes with its seven different boat models. The specially designed Wheelyboats are simple to board via their roll-on, roll-off bow ramps and their level deck provides access to every corner of the boat including the helm, overcoming practical difficulties and providing disabled users with independence to make the entire water accessible.

Andy Beadsley, Director of The Wheelyboat Trust says, “I am thrilled to be demonstrating our latest and most versatile Wheelyboat, the Coulam V20 to Graham and Lorraine at the Southampton Boat Show this Sunday. This craft provides disabled people with the opportunity and freedom to enjoy water-based activities, and I am delighted that one will be going to the QE2 Activity Centre”.

Phil Oates adds “The Coulam V20 will be a great addition to our fleet, giving disabled people even more opportunities to see and appreciate the ever-changing river and experience speed on the water”.

Those who know the area will know that the Upper Hamble is one of the loveliest spots in Hampshire, while the lower Hamble, with its 3,500 boats, is like a permanent boat show – everything from dinghies and fishing boats to ‘gin palaces’ and Round the World yachts.

It is not just boating that happens at QE2 Activity Centre. Being based in a 400 acre country park by the Hamble means a wide range of activities is possible.  These include archery, climbing and team games in a purpose built sports hall; ropes course, team challenge and zipwire in the grounds; bushcraft, geocaching and orienteering in the country park and, best of all, getting out on the water.

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Activities Centre is a registered charity. The Centre offers both day and holiday facilities for people with learning disabilities, autism, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and other additional needs.

1 Comment
from → publicity

Barnet Homes: Don’t Evict My Family And Provide My Father With An Accessible Home

September 11, 2015
by

A petition from change.org. I’ve just signed it.

I’m Ash and the man in the picture is my father Mostafa, a former carer and wheelchair user. We are the final family of the Sweets Way estate, who Barnet Council have been driving out so they can build luxury flats. But in the process of driving us out, they don’t want to accept their duties to find somewhere suitable, that is wheelchair accessible.

Now things have got urgent as Barnet Council are threatening to evict us if we don’t accept the housing they have offered on the 14th September — housing which isn’t suitable to my father. I have three other siblings and my youngest sister, who is five, has no idea that we could be made homeless any day now.

In spite of the facts, Barnet have decided that my dad is only a part-time wheelchair user, and so they don’t need to provide him with accommodation that is accessible and adapted to his needs. They somehow came to this conclusion despite reading reports from various health care workers, including my dad’s occupational therapist, which includes the following passages:

“[Mostafa] reports having very limited confidence when mobilising without wheelchair. [He] described that when mobilising, his left leg can “collapse”, presenting a possible further falls risk, and this appears to be affecting his confidence to mobilise without use of his wheelchair.

[Mostafa] reported previous falls within the current and previous property, one of which he claimed had resulted in him becoming unconscious…”

Barnet Homes insist they do not need to offer us a home with interior wheelchair access, and have placed us in the second-lowest priority band (Band C) for re-housing, though the top band (Band A) is explicitly meant for people whose housing needs relate to issues of health and disability.
Time is running out as the threat of a court eviction is just days away. Please help me and my family to tell Barnet Homes to call-off the bailiffs, recognise the full extent of my father’s disability and provide housing that meet the needs of a full-time wheelchair user.

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from → disability political policies, politics

Assisted Dying Bill “Changes Value Of Life” Says Archbishop Welby

September 11, 2015
by

MPs are debating whether some terminally ill adults in England and Wales should be allowed to end their lives with medical supervision.

Speaking ahead of Friday’s debate, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: “It changes our whole approach to the value of life to have assisted suicide.”

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from → the law

Edinburgh JobCentre Shut Down As Claimants Protest That Advocacy Is Not A Crime

September 11, 2015
by

The entire ground floor of Edinburgh’s High Riggs Jobcentre was closed down for almost three hours on 10th September as Jobcentre managers called in police and refused to permit a jobseeker to exercise his right to be accompanied to an appointment. Members of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty defied threats of arrest and stayed in the jobcentre to support the claimant and the ECAP advocate.

Now ECAP are calling a solidarity demo for this Monday 14th at 9am at High Riggs Jobcentre, when the jobseeker, Adam, will attend his rearranged appointment, once more accompanied by an ECAP advocate.  ECAP say: “We will not be intimidated by the DWP bullies, G4S security or the police.  We will assert claimants’ right to be accompanied.  The DWP themselves state: “Claimants accessing Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits and services can have someone to accompany them to act on their behalf..””

JOBCENTRE DENY RIGHTS

Jobseeker Adam had been called to the Jobcentre for an appointment to review his Jobseekers Agreement.  Having suffered months of harrassment from the Jobcentre, who have been trying to force him onto workfare schemes, Adam asked ECAP rep Mike to come with him.  Having that very morning received the distressing news that his brother was having to undergo a serious emergency operation, Adam asked Gerry, the Jobcentre adviser, if his review could be postponed and if he could just quickly sign on and go to the hospital to be with his brother.  

The adviser completely ignored this request and instead aggressively demanded that ECAP rep Mike produce photographic ID to prove who he was.  This despite the fact that Mike has not only attended dozens of interviews in High Riggs, including with senior managers, but had even accompanied Adam to an appointment with the same adviser, Gerry, very recently.   When Mike replied that there was nothing requiring the provision of ID in the DWP documents which confirm the right to representation, Gerry stormed off.  G4S security demanded the ECAP rep leave – he refused.  Management called the police.

SOLIDARITY

At this point ECAP members, who had been leafleting outside, entered the jobcentre to give solidarity to Adam and Mike, and demanded to speak with the manager.  Soon police descended on the Jobcentre and the management closed off the entire ground floor.  For some time the whole Jobcentre was shut, with steel door roller shutters barring claimants from entry.   Despite frequent requests for a meeting, manager Linda Gibb refused any dialogue.  Meanwhile members of ECAP’s solidarity network, alerted by an emergency call-out, gathered at the Jobcentre in growing numbers.

This incident follows the arrest of advocate Tony Cox at Arbroath Jobcentre where he was accompanying a vulnerable jobseeker.  Supporters are due to besiege Forfar Sheriff Court when Scottish Unemployed Workers Network activist Tony faces trial on 13th October.  

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

ECAP say: “As part of the government’s war on the poor, Jobcentre staff are told to harrass claimants and impose benefit cuts.  Staff can even be disciplined for not imposing “enough sanctions” – as a whistleblower recently revealed.  So it’s vital that claimants organise to support each other.  Being accompanied to all important benefits appointments is essential solidarity.  

ECAP will continue to resist and take direct action.  The assault on claimants is part of the wider attack on all workers’ rights and conditions and on all public services – we seek to link up with all struggles to assert people’s needs against austerity and cutbacks.”

Show your solidarity with Adam and Mike this Monday 14th at 9 am at High Riggs Jobcentre, and with Tony on 13th October at Forfar Sheriff Court #AdvocacyIsNotACrime!

Information on the Right to be accompanied at http://www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/node/32

Information on Tony Cox arrest and trial http://www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk/node/179

11 Comments
from → disability political policies, politics

Jeffrey Spector’s Wife “Knew He’d Made Up His Mind”

September 11, 2015
by

On Friday, MPs will debate whether or not to legalise assisted dying.

It would enable any adult in England and Wales who is terminally ill to ask doctors for a lethal dose to end their life.

Those in favour argue it would enable patients to die with dignity and without pain but those against say it would set a dangerous precedent and is unnecessary.

Ed Thomas spoke exclusively to the family of Jeffrey Spector, who wanted a change in the law, and travelled to Switzerland to end his life.

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from → the law

Assisted Dying Law Is ‘Very Bad’ Says Man With MND

September 11, 2015
by

On Friday, MPs will debate whether or not to legalise assisted dying.

It would enable any adult in England and Wales who is terminally ill to ask doctors for a lethal dose to end their life.

Those in favour argue it would enable patients to die with dignity and without pain but those against say it would set a dangerous precedent and is unnecessary.

Michael Wenham has suffered from a rare form of motor neurone disease for the past 13 years. Mr Wenham and his wife Jane spoke to BBC News about why they are opposed to the assisted dying bill.

3 Comments
from → the law
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