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Seriously ill patients 'told to work' - BBC NEWS 24 & WEB

Submitted by John on Mon, 18/01/2010 - 12:15pm
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 BBC NEWS

Seriously ill patients 'told to work'

 

A BBC investigation has heard claims of seriously ill patients being told they are fit enough to work and denied benefit payments.

Two former doctors for the private healthcare company Atos, which carries out the medical assessments have expressed concerns that the checks are being done too quickly and that the system is biased towards declaring people fit for work.

BBC Scotland's Social Affairs Reporter, Fiona Walker, has been investigating why some of those who had high hopes for ESA say it has been a failure.

Employment Support Allowance, or ESA, is replacing Incapacity Benefit. It's supposed to support the very sick, and as people get better, help them get back into the workplace.

The government said it wanted to get a million people back to work by 2015 but more that one year after introducing ESA, it says it can't measure how many people the scheme has got back into the workplace.

During the investigation, we've heard claims that terminally ill patients are being told to attend back-to-work interviews while they apply for the new benefit.

We also heard concerns that the medicals are declaring seriously ill people as fit enough to go to work.

One of the patients we spoke to was Maureen Leitch. She says she was called in for a medical assessment just a few weeks after undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy for vulval cancer.

She was declared fit for work and told she wasn't entitled to ESA.

“ It feels like some of it is done inappropriately and it's almost being done to save money rather than to look after people ” 
Dr Chris Johnstone Paisley GP

She said: "I was struggling terribly with the whole cancer. I was in extreme pain… It was a whole load of hassle, and aggravation that I didn't need at the time I was going through the journey of the cancer… I feel insulted and badly let down, with the system."

Maureen appealed the decision and it was overturned, meaning she was eventually awarded the benefit.

Currently, there are 44, 000 people waiting for their appeals to be heard. More than a third of people are winning their appeals.

Charities and organisations including Citizens' Advice Bureau, say they're worried that thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money is being wasted because of the number of people going to appeal.

Everyone we've interviewed for this investigation agrees that getting people back to work can be good for them.

Frequent appraisals

What they're concerned about is the way the system is working in practice.

Dr Chris Johnstone is a GP in Paisley. His work to help his patients back to work helped shape the ESA policy.

He said: "I have no problem with a rigorous medical assessment done in a supportive fashion.

"But I think if you have a slipshod one done, as it appears to be anecdotally, that's unfair for the people going through the system. It feels like some of it is done inappropriately and it's almost being done to save money rather than to look after people."

Ultimately the decision on whether you get benefit or not is down to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), but they have contracted a private healthcare company called Atos to carry out the initial medical assessments.

I've spoken to two doctors who used to work for Atos. They say they are concerned about the way checks are being done. They both say they are worried that speaking out will affect their medical careers so we've agreed not to reveal their names.

This is what one of the doctors told me: "We would frequently have appraisals. They were all about how many clients you had seen and the average length of time it took to complete each assessment and write the reports.

"I wanted to know if they were happy with the quality of the reports I'd done but they hadn't even looked at my reports, only at the time it had taken. It's really tough to qualify for ESA.

"When doctors go in for the day's assessments, they pretty much know the clients are going to be turned down."

The other doctor I spoke to backed up those claims.

We asked to do an interview with Atos, but they refused.

Gaining skills

Instead they gave us a statement saying: "We are continually monitored and audited by the government to ensure that it completes the highest standard of assessment and that medical advice is correct.

"Atos Healthcare and its employees are not advised of the result of the assessment and the outcome has no bearing on Atos Healthcare targets or remuneration."

Helping people back to work is one of the key aims of ESA. But the government can't tell us how many people this new scheme has got back into work.

The minister for Disabled People at Westminster is Jonathan Shaw, MP. I asked him why his department couldn't tell us how many people ESA had successfully got back to work.

He said: "What's essential is that we are providing a programme, across the board, not just for ESA claimants but for youngsters, for disabled people for elderly people, to try and gain the skills that they can to stay in the labour market and return to work.

"We've got the pathways to work programme, which as I say is helping thousands of people who I've met up and down the country… this is early days, for the Employment Support Allowance."

Mr Shaw also said he would be looking into the way cancer patients are treated.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/8465122.stm

Published: 2010/01/18 10:06:47 GMT

© BBC MMX

BBC Inside Out London covers the new "fit note" and the issues for GP's

Submitted by John on Mon, 12/10/2009 - 6:51pm
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Click here to view the BBC Inside Out London programme 12th October 2009 on "Fit Notes" that replace" sick notes.

Click here for iplayer version.

GP's are concerned they now have to act as Occupational Therapists a job they say they are not qualified to do.

The London Wide Medical Committee which represents the interests of 6000 London based GP's surveyed there members.

From 458 GP's that replied to the survey.

79.9% said they lacked the expertise to complete a "fit note".

81% said the "fit note" should be done by Occupational Health.

96% said they had no Occupational Health Training.

Concern that Occupational Therapists are professionals and specialist in their own right. GP's are not training and are concerned at the risk to GP patient relationship and patient health.

Lord McKenzie, Minster at the Department of Work & Pensions was "surprised" at the poor response from GP's.

 

HPV vaccination hits 70% uptake - BBC

Submitted by John on Thu, 03/09/2009 - 1:33pm
Posted in

 news_logo.gif

HPV vaccination hits 70% uptake

Some 70% of 12-to-13-year-olds in England have been fully vaccinated against cervical cancer in the first year of the programme, figures show.

In the last school year 87% had at least one of the three doses needed to protect against HPV - the virus linked with most cervical cancers.

The Department of Health says 80% coverage is needed to achieve "herd immunity" but it has not set a target.

A staggered catch-up campaign is planned for older schoolgirls.


“ The programme's biggest challenge is to ensure that all girls who are eligible for the catch-up vaccine are immunised ” 

Robert Music, Jo's Trust



The HPV vaccine had attracted some controversy as it works by making girls immune to a sexually transmitted infection.

It was initially offered to all 12-to-13-year-olds across the UK but a staggered catch-up campaign for 14-to-18-year-olds is due to get underway in England, Wales and Northern Ireland when schools go back in September.

In Scotland, vaccination of older girls has already started.

Robert Music, director of the Jo's Trust cervical cancer charity, said: "Given the HPV vaccine was only introduced last September, it is a positive start to this important programme for 70% of eligible girls to have received all three doses of the vaccine.

"The programme's biggest challenge is to ensure that all girls who are eligible for the catch-up vaccine are immunised."

Other vaccines

The NHS Information Centre report also showed that in 2008-09 uptake levels of MMR vaccine for two-year olds remained at around 85% for the third year running - still short of the 90% target.

By age five, when children are recommended to have a second dose, the latest uptake figures are 78% - the highest level since the data was first collected in 1998.

There are still many children out there who were not vaccinated as toddlers over the past decade and remain unprotected

Since 2005, the number of cases of measles has been rising year on year.

The figures also show that 74% of over 65s received the seasonal flu vaccine last winter.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/8235832.stm


Published: 2009/09/03 13:30:30 GMT


© BBC MMIX

Billions in benefits go unclaimed - BBC

Submitted by John on Thu, 25/06/2009 - 12:31pm
Posted in

 BBC NEWS

Billions in benefits go unclaimed

Up to £10.5bn in income-related benefits went unclaimed in Britain in 2007-8, government figures reveal.

A calculation of take-up of the five key benefits showed that the estimated amount that went unclaimed shifted up slightly compared with a year earlier.

Unclaimed funds from the five benefits was between £6.3bn and £10.5bn, or 15% to 23% of all entitlement money.

The data includes Income Support, Pension Credit, Jobseekers Allowance, and housing and council tax benefits.

The figures are published annually by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), and reveal the level to which residents fail to claim all of the benefits they are entitled to.

Breakdown

Three of the five key income-related benefits showed a slight decrease in take-up - when comparing the number of benefit recipients in 2007-8 with the previous year, the report showed.

 

“ The government needs to work at full speed towards more automatic payments of benefits ” 
Michelle Mitchell, Help the Aged 

The proportion of people claiming Pension Credit rose by one percentage point - reaching between 61% and 70% of the total entitlement.

However, the take-up of Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit all fell by around one percentage point. Jobseekers Allowance take-up remained relatively unchanged.

Charities have been urging people to claim all the benefits to which they are entitled, with a number offering free guidance on how to apply.

'Bogged down'

One of those charities is Help the Aged and Age Concern, which is running a year-long campaign on benefit take-up.

It believes that people do not claim because they are not aware of the benefit, they do not believe they are entitled to it, they are confused by the complexity of the system, or they don't want to take "handouts".

 

"These figures show just how badly the means-tested benefits system, which was supposed to lift older people out of poverty, is bogged down," said Michelle Mitchell, the charity's director.

She said that a large number of pensioners were still missing out on Pension Credit, which would give them an average of £31 extra a week.

"The government needs to work at full speed towards more automatic payments of benefits."

Pensions minister Angela Eagle said: "We want to make sure that everyone is getting all of the help that they are entitled to and we are always working to make our benefits more accessible."

She added that the Pensions Service made 13,000 face-to-face visits with retired people every week and a new regional campaign in the areas with the least take-up had been launched.

Unbanked

Separate figures published this week give a hint of the level of financial deprivation in the UK.

 

FINANCIAL EXCLUSION 

The Treasury revealed that 1.85 million adults do not have access to a bank account - that is 4% of the adult population.

This was a fall from 2.09 million a year ago. It is also a decrease of 35% from 2002-3, when the UK government and major UK banks agreed to attempt to halve the number of adults without access to a bank account.

Toynbee Hall, an East London-based charity that works with the financially-excluded in the UK, welcomed the figures but said more work needed to be done.

"Those who remain without bank accounts are often the poorest and most vulnerable in society and that they are the ones who end up poorer and at risk because of this," said Adam Clark, Toynbee Hall's financial inclusion manager.

He said that anyone without a bank account found it very difficult to get paid a salary or benefits and were more vulnerable to theft.

They also missed out on discounts on certain goods and utilities and often had to pay high costs for cashing cheques and borrowing money.

Those with access to a bank account for the first time often struggled to have the skills and confidence to use it. This left many being hit with charges, such as for unauthorised overdrafts, or having their accounts closed down.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/8118478.stm

Published: 2009/06/25 10:55:20 GMT

© BBC MMIX

No longer able to take early retirement

Submitted by John on Tue, 26/05/2009 - 5:45am
Posted in

With international and national banking and financial markers in turmoil. The value of many peoples pensions and savings have seen a dramatic fall in the value of return.

Remember to claim for all your benefits to supplement your pension click here for information.

The BBC Website today is running two stories that may be of interest "Over 50's needing to work longer" & "Birthday Lottery over pensions". 

HPV Vaccination for boys in the news.

Submitted by John on Fri, 03/04/2009 - 5:56pm
Posted in

Tonight on the BBC London News Broadcast there was an article about Jade Goody who is laid to rest tomorrow, 4th April 2009.  

Part of the legacy of this young lady is that she has not only raised awareness of cervical cancer but the vaccination for HPV for young girls and now boys. 

They interviewed many young men who were all for having the vaccination if it would reduce the incidence of cervical cancer.

Of course it would go much further than that. It would reduce the incidence of penile and anal cancers as well as deal with the issue of genital warts.

We believe however that government has missed an oppourtunity here.  There choice of vaccine offers the least protection, only 2 strains of HPV. We call for government to vaccinate all girls with the alternative, it covers 4 strains of HPV, and extend the programme to boys as well.

Often referred to as the "herd" effect. Vaccinating boys would reduce further transmission especially where any female partner was not vaccinated.

Our sympathy is with Ms. Goody's family at this time.

Answers to our question put to Tony McNulty MP & Minister DWP - BBC 'Have your say.'

Submitted by anonymous on Mon, 22/12/2008 - 2:34pm
Posted in

Further to the request to lodge questions to the Minster for Employment & Welfare Reform, Tony McNulty MP, on the BBC 'Have your say' forum.

 

I asked a question and here is is with the answer -

 

How is the minister reforming welfare to make people who have been out of work, say with HIV, and find it difficult to get work because of stigma and needs arising from disability? I understand the Jobcentre only has an intranet for guidance, with no training in the needs of people with HIV - so your team at the DWP tell me.
John, Fulham, UK

 

TONY McNULTY MP: Jobcentre Plus decision-makers get independent, accurate and authoritative medical advice from approved healthcare professionals. These professionals are trained to provide advice on the effects of any disability or condition. The training includes material on HIV/AIDS.

More generally, while the vast majority of employers don't deliberately discriminate against disabled people, too many still perceive that employing a disabled person may carry additional risks for their organisation. So whilst we are making encouraging progress, we still have work to do to demonstrate to employers that employing disabled people really does not carry such risks and that there are many advantages and opportunities to be gained from a more diverse workforce. Once in work, disabled people are often very loyal employees who have less time off sick. I do accept, though, that we have some ways to go with some employers.

 

If you want to see the whole article click here.

 

Further to the request to lodge questions to the Minster for Employment & Welfare Reform, Tony McNulty MP, on the BBC 'Have your say' forum.

 

I asked a question and here is is with the answer -

 

How is the minister reforming welfare to make people who have been out of work, say with HIV, and find it difficult to get work because of stigma and needs arising from disability? I understand the Jobcentre only has an intranet for guidance, with no training in the needs of people with HIV - so your team at the DWP tell me.
John, Fulham, UK

 

TONY McNULTY MP: Jobcentre Plus decision-makers get independent, accurate and authoritative medical advice from approved healthcare professionals. These professionals are trained to provide advice on the effects of any disability or condition. The training includes material on HIV/AIDS.

More generally, while the vast majority of employers don't deliberately discriminate against disabled people, too many still perceive that employing a disabled person may carry additional risks for their organisation. So whilst we are making encouraging progress, we still have work to do to demonstrate to employers that employing disabled people really does not carry such risks and that there are many advantages and opportunities to be gained from a more diverse workforce. Once in work, disabled people are often very loyal employees who have less time off sick. I do accept, though, that we have some ways to go with some employers.

 

If you want to see the whole article click here.

Questions to Tony McNulty MP Minister for Welfare Reform - BBC Have you say.

Submitted by John on Tue, 16/12/2008 - 11:30am
Posted in

You may be interested in lodging a question for Tony McNulty the minister at the Department for Work & Pensions responsible for Welfare Reform.

The BBC "Have you say" are running this forum - click here for more information. 

NHS at 60 & BBC Newsnight

Submitted by John on Thu, 05/06/2008 - 1:31pm
Posted in
05/06/2008 14:29

 The BBC are running a debate on the NHS at 60. You can find and contribute here - 

http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4884&edition=1&ttl=20080605142532

This, as I understand will feed into the Newnight programme.

As we all use and rely on the NHS I mention this for your information.

Media

Submitted by John on Mon, 17/03/2008 - 2:30pm
Posted in
12/06/2008 17:00

ThCell is not responsible for the content of external websites. Navigation and use of information on external websites is at the users own risk. ThCell is a wholly independent organisation. You should not consider any externally linked organisation or website as endorsed or recommended by ThCell. Links are provided, in good faith, to information you may find useful.

 

This is for links to media information & those who have carried an article on this issue.

 

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