Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Hundreds of Scots DEAD as FOI reveals thousands die in UK as a result of Tory-Libdem benefits ‘tests’ by ATOS Healthcare

OVER ONE THOUSAND PEOPLE HAVE DIED as a direct result of ‘reforms’ to benefits payouts ordered by the Conservative Liberal-Democrat Coalition Government in Westminster, with likely to be HUNDREDS OF SCOTS also among the dead, according to information published by the media after Freedom of Information responses revealed over 32 people are dying a week after having passed through work capability assessments carried out by by private firm ATOS, on a £100million a year contract to the ConDem coalition Westminster Government. ATOS made a £42million profit in 2010 and paid boss Keith Wilman £800,000, a 22% pay rise on the previous year.

With the revelations of the numbers of dead, Scots may now be entitled to ask – “Would a Scottish Government of an Independent Scotland hire a French based firm for £100million a year to do the same to Scots citizens and cause as many deaths ?” (errm No ! - Ed)

The Daily Mirror newspaper reports :

32 die a week after failing test for new incapacity benefit

More than a thousand ­sickness benefit claimants died last year after being told to get a job, we can reveal. We've highlighted worries about the controversial medical tests for people claiming Employment Support Allowance which are being used to slash the country's welfare bill. The Government has boasted that more than half of new ­claimants are found "fit to work" - failing to mention that over 300,000 have appealed the decision and almost 40% have won. Instead, employment minister Chris Grayling says this ­"emphasises what a complete waste of human lives the current system has been".

We've used the Freedom of Information Act to discover that, between January and August last year, 1,100 claimants died after they were put in the "work-related activity group". This group - which accounted for 21% of all claimants at the last count - get a lower rate of benefit for one year and are expected to go out and find work. This compares to 5,300 deaths of people who were put in the "support group" - which accounts for 22% of claimants - for the most unwell, who get the full, no-strings benefit of up to £99.85 a week.

We don't know how many people died after being found "fit to work", the third group, as that information was "not available". But we have also found that 1,600 people died before their assessment had been completed. This should take 13 weeks, while the claimant gets a reduced payment of up to £67.50 a week, but delays have led to claims the system is in "meltdown".

Mr Grayling admitted last month that 35,000 people are waiting longer than 13 weeks. Commenting on the deaths of ­claimants, a Department for Work and Pensions official said: "It is possible that the claimant had already closed their claim and then ­subsequently died, meaning that these figures may be ­overestimating the true picture." Of course, they're bound to include some people who died of ­something completely unrelated to their benefit claim.

But there are plenty of tragic cases - such as that of David Groves (left) who died from a heart attack the night before taking his work ­capability assessment. The 56-year-old, from Staveley, Derbyshire, worked for 40 years as a miner and telecoms engineer but stopped on doctors' orders after an earlier heart attack and a string of strokes. His widow Sandra said: "When Dave was called in for a medical, he felt like he was back to square one. "He was in a terrible state by the day he died. It was the stress that killed him, I'm sure."

Stephen Hill, 53, of Duckmanton, Derbyshire, died of a heart attack in December, one month after being told he was "fit to work", even though he was waiting for major heart surgery. Citizens Advice told us it has found "a number of cases" of people dying soon after being found fit for work. "There seems to be a clear link between the cause of death and the condition they were suffering from that led to the claim," said Katie Lane, head of welfare policy.

"We have always supported the idea that people who could work and want to work should be helped to do that. But we are seeing a lot of seriously ill and disabled people being found fit for work. "We have serious concerns about whether the test used to decide if people are fit for work is the right test." The work capability assessments are carried out by private firm Atos, on a £100million a year contract. The firm made a £42million profit in 2010 and paid boss Keith Wilman £800,000, a 22% pay rise on the previous year.

The response to our FOI request:

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request of 16 February 2012. You asked:

Can you please provide me with the number of ESA claimants who have died in 2011?

Can you please break down that number into the following categories:
• Those who are in the assessent phase
• Those who have been found fit to work
• Those who have been placed in the work related activity group
• Those who have been placed in the support group
• Those who have an appeal pending

The table below provides data on the numbers of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants where the Department holds information on a date of death being recorded in 2011 and whose latest Work Capability Assessment (WCA) date (or activity towards assessment) was before the end of August 2011, the latest data available.

In total, between January 2011 and August 2011, some 8,000 claims ended and a date of death was recorded within six weeks of the claim end. This represents about 1% of the total ESA caseload in May 2011 (the latest caseload data available). The table below shows the position of these claims when they were closed.

Those in the Support Group receive unconditional support due to the nature of their illness, which can include degenerative conditions, terminal illness and severe disability. Note it is possible that the claimant had already closed their claim and then subsequently died, meaning that these figures may overestimate the true picture. Care should therefore be taken when interpreting these figures.

WCA Outcome at most recent assessment and number of claimants with a recorded date of death :

Assessment not complete 1,600
Work Related Activity Group 1,100
Support Group 5,300
Total 8,000

All figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Data on the number of ESA claimants that have died following a fit for work decision is not available, as the Department does not hold information on a death if the person has already left benefit. The Department does not hold information on the number of claimants who died whilst an appeal was in progress.

We then asked for: The total Employment and Support Allowance caseload figures most comparable with the ones in the FOI request, eg Jan-Aug 2011, showing how many ESA claimants are put in support group, WRAG group, fit to work or claim ended. Clarification on whether these figures are only new ESA claims or whether they include the transfer from Incapacity Benefit? Clarification on the six-week cut off figure - why was that selected?

We were told: “As at August 2011 there were around 730,000 people receiving ESA. In the three quarters Jan-Sep 2011, 380,000 people left ESA. It is not possible to provide the further detail you request. These figures only cover new ESA claims - claims from IB recipients are not included. The six-week figure is used routinely within the department when looking at where people go after leaving benefits.”

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the problem, these people got on incapacity benefit on doctor's medical opinion and now private doctors who get nice bonuses declare them fit for work.

Where there are excess people due to sickness, elderly, unemployed one political theorist warned the Nazi gas factories could appear again. Politics is meant to protect the weak and vulnerable. The problem for politicians is seperating out those who are ill from the ones who pretend to be ill, those who choose to be unemployed from the unemployed who want to find a job, and how to pay for the elderly.

ATOS Healthcare will send the ill back to work, this is the reason they were awarded the contract. Cameron and Clegg will be delighted because the people who have died are no longer an economic burden to the state. To be honest Salmond is the same.

What a world we live in.

Anonymous said...

But there are plenty of tragic cases - such as that of David Groves (left) who died from a heart attack the night before taking his work ­capability assessment. The 56-year-old, from Staveley, Derbyshire, worked for 40 years as a miner and telecoms engineer but stopped on doctors' orders after an earlier heart attack and a string of strokes. His widow Sandra said: "When Dave was called in for a medical, he felt like he was back to square one. "He was in a terrible state by the day he died. It was the stress that killed him, I'm sure."

Stephen Hill, 53, of Duckmanton, Derbyshire, died of a heart attack in December, one month after being told he was "fit to work", even though he was waiting for major heart surgery. Citizens Advice told us it has found "a number of cases" of people dying soon after being found fit for work. "There seems to be a clear link between the cause of death and the condition they were suffering from that led to the claim," said Katie Lane, head of welfare policy.
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Cameron and Clegg, belong in the Nazi Party.

Anonymous said...

A National disgrace that amounts to murder by stealth by the Condems - and don't think for a moment the SNP would be any different, its happening here too.

Anonymous said...

The Torags contract killers are going to end up putting everyone in gas chambers and getting away with it.

The sooner Scotland is free of Cameron's tyranny the better.

Sheila said...

Atos have been working with the Scottish Government, Labour and SNP, on the development of eCare for years as a quick search will confirm.

Have a look at this PDF from January:

http://uk.atos.net/NR/rdonlyres/0056074D-74F5-4181-86D7-1C3755319F1D/0/NHSScotlandenhancingpatientcareforthepeopleofScotland4ppcaseStudy14641211.pdf

Note the eCare reference and be aware that this is much bigger than just the NHS, worrying as this may be...this diagram is not very subtle but it gets the message over.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff151/Dthen/EcareDiagram.jpg

The Scottish surveillance scandal had some much needed exposure last year when Kenneth Roy of the Scottish Review ran a series of articles. I've collated Kenneth's excellent pieces and other related coverage on this forum thread:

http://www.home-education.biz/forum/general-discussion/12948-big-brother-scotland.html

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

The Torags contract killers are going to end up putting everyone in gas chambers and getting away with it.

The sooner Scotland is free of Cameron's tyranny the better.

9:29 PM
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I do not think the Scottish Parliament MSP's are any better than Cameron.

Holmey said...

Could charges not be brought against the DWP, government ministers and senior civil servants under the The Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007 as outlined on http://calumslist.org/legal/, also, if coroners see a trend in death occurring, are they not supposed to put a report in? Why is this not happening?

Anonymous said...

Coroners are easily bought off by the powers that be

Charge every single ATOS employee involved in these cases with MURDER and make sure their names are plastered all over the newspapers and television for what they have done.

If we do nothing about this no one will help us so stand up and FIGHT!

Anonymous said...

Oh well if the B******s are going to kill us anyway...

Ron Graves said...

As I've said more than once on my blog, this is not "welfare reform" - it's a cull.

This proves it.

Gordon Pye said...

http://kentfreedommovement.ning.com/profiles/blogs/green-holocaust-pt-1

Anonymous said...

Ah the new Final Solution, sent heart attack victims and lung disease victims back to work. Instead of the gas factories which are illegal they use coercion and Nazi Atos doctors who get larger bank balances the more they sign off incapacity benefit. People die, they have been liquidated legally.

If I was going for the medical I would tell the doctor to write their report and not examine me because that is how they operate anyway. In certain circumstances terminal illness can be a positive thing. Think about it.