Tuesday 23 July 2013

This blog is dead and I have given up....

Wednesday 13 February 2013

ESA

Well it's been a funny few months hospital and then treatment and then sickness due to treatment and then back for more hospital appointments. I have had my ESA medical nice doctor, which is never a good sign when your talking about medicals. A day later I banged my head when I fell over down the hospital with nose bleeds told I have damaged the back of my nose. I'm not to sure whether I will keep my benefits because the rules are now basically pot luck and have the doctors at ATOS hit their targets for the month if they have your likely to be ok if not you will be appealing, which helps ATOS because they are paid for getting the appeals done. I was talking to a lady who lost he claim for benefits went to the appeal sat down and was told to go home h she would be classed as severely disabled, three weeks later she is told she must go through the process again, this is placing massive pressure on her, but is adding I suspect to ATOS profits and to the Tories/Labour plans for lowering welfare. I see Cruddas has stated the labour parties fight back, by basically out doing the Tories, the bloke thinks that food banks are a great idea, what next labour will fund soup kitchens for the poorest since benefit are to be made lower. Then we are hearing labour does not mind private enterprise like boxing clubs taking on more as they would be cheaper then some public sectors, but how long before those charities think we can make more money by becoming private enterprise with share holders or we end w up with more like A4e types. I'm finding it harder and harder to see the differences between Miliband and Blair and the Tories to be honest.

Monday 14 January 2013

On the day we publish Emergency Stop, a new report analysing the economic and social impact of the Personal Independence Payment regulations, we call on the Government to ‘go back to the drawing board’ on proposals to replace disability living allowance (DLA), after it buried last-minute changes to criteria which will see thousands more disabled people with mobility difficulties lose out than expected. The unexpected changes, slipped out following a Ministerial statement last month (13 December 2012), mean the criteria for the enhanced mobility rate of the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP), has tightened. The qualification has changed from being able to walk 50 metres to being able to walk 20 metres. This not only condemns thousands more disabled people to the worry of losing out under the new benefit and the isolation this will bring; it also highlights the lie that the Government’s reforms are targeted to support those in need. Government protestations about consultation are a nonsense if it takes no notice of what disabled people and their organisations say. Of the 173 consultation responses from organisations on the new PIP, only one suggested the qualifying distance for those who have the most difficulty getting around should perhaps be changed. And why has there been no parliamentary debate on such a significant policy change? Is it because government has already decided this is about saving money rather than meeting need? We’re also calling on the Government to incorporate people’s ability to undertake tasks ‘reliably, repeatedly, safely and in a timely manner’ into the regulations for PIP, which will ensure both assessments and appeal hearings consistently take account of factors such as pain, fatigue, breathlessness and other symptoms generated by undertaking tasks. The ‘Emergency Stop’ report analyses figures supplied by the DWP and Motability, the organisation that supplies lease cars and specialist converted vehicles to disabled people claiming the higher mobility rate of Disability Living Allowance. The analysis estimates that, under PIP, 428,000 fewer working age disabled people will qualify for the higher PIP rate (which allows access to the Motability scheme) by 2018. This could lead to 160,000 fewer Motability cars on the road. Oxford Economics’ report ‘Economic and social impact of the Motability Car Scheme’ (2010) identified the Motability scheme’s contribution to the economy through car sales, employment generation and tax receipts. The new report shows that welfare reform plans will lead to a domino effect including the loss of: 5,692 jobs (from 21,080 jobs to 15,388 jobs in Motability-related industries) £544 million contribution to GDP (from around £2 billion to £1.45 billion) £126 million in tax receipts It also highlights that the cost to the public purse of enabling disabled people to get to medical appointments could alone amount to about £8 million. It’s not just disabled people who will lose out under the Government’s welfare reform plans. Changing from DLA to PIP means fewer people qualifying for Motability cars to the tune of about 50,000 fewer vehicles a year. Less demand means fewer jobs in the motor industry, a lower contribution to GDP and the exchequer, and a knock on effect on the second hand market, which also contributes to the economy. In the meantime, disabled people will be less independent, less likely to be able to get or keep a job, more likely to give up self-employment and less able to care for their children or support other family members. Notes Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit that helps individuals meet the additional costs that come from living with a disability and is payable to people in work as well as out of work For more information of our concerns about the PIP proposals, see our earlier post at: PIP Emergency – Act Now! Details of the Government’s proposals for PIP are available here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-assessment-thresholds-and-consultation-response.pdf Projections of the number of people expected to be eligible for the enhanced mobility rate in May 2018, when migration will be complete, are available here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-reassessments-and-impacts.pdf (tables 7 & 8) Esther McVey’s statement on PIP is available here: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/ministers-speeches/2012/13-12-12.shtml The Oxford Economics publication, ‘Economic and social impact of the Motability Car Scheme’ (2010), is available for download at http://www.oxfordeconomics.com/my-oxford/projects/129035 The We are Spartacus campaign group is an internet-based group of disabled and sick people from around the UK which campaigns for welfare benefits and social care services that enable disabled and sick people to live independently and with dignity. http://wearespartacus.org.uk/

Thursday 13 December 2012

Being disabled for me and work.

Many years ago while the Labour party were in power, I was contacted by the office of the Labour party, a young man had said he saw me on TV and thought well maybe it would be time for me to say less and look for work. He suggested I'd be willing to help the party by doing a survey, and then looked for work and say less. I was now ready to end my time with this political group it was obvious even to a flying Duck labour was going to wards the center right, and it was slowly becoming more conservative and less socialist. I then did a TV show about Remploy followed by another about work and the idea that anyone could work, the BBC who works with which ever government is in power then decided to make a program about scroungers, they arrived at my home with an American Kick boxing pratt, who like most in America thinks the disabled would be better in camps with lots of gas rooms, took me ten minutes to Google him and what we found was not nice at all, his group that he worked for and Labour was willing to sell themselves actually subscribed to allowing prisoners who were serving life to be given injections to end their lives, they also thought that allowing prisoners to take drugs to try them out. It was interesting and when he came to this country he brought his feeling with him and his ideas and you could see the BBC presenters nodding in agreement. I was then told that they were not really looking at me and I was to be the disabled one, they were going to Merthyr to see the lazy workshy worthless, which on it's own is interesting. When shown on TV this America stalwart of Labour idea on disabled decided that I was disabled seriously disabled and I was honest, so out he goes to find me work, first it was a local cafe, three steps to get in and the young lady stated she was willing to pay for the right person £10 a day, he came back and said I've found you work the presenter said it was easy, I then said I'm disabled not stupid, the going rate at this time was £3.20 an hour under the min wage, yes came the reply but does that mean disabled people as well, yes of course it does. The reply came back you British do not know how to treat people you should be forced, well yes forced up steps and forced to work in an area to small for a wheelchair, the cafe closed down that night. Then a local cake factory said oh yes we will always employ the disabled, back they came again and said see look at this, they showed me, so I phoned up the local factory yes what can we do, well I'm looking for work, good we are employing OK good, does having a wheelchair matter, the phone went dead, they had put the phone down, so I phoned up again to be put through to the management, no at this time we are not employing anyone, thank you phone back next year. Did the BBC put any of this on the TV no of course not they were on the way to Merthyr to have a got at them. This chap came from America had to have been paid at least £100,000, he then has a car driven for him and would have had a five star hotel and expenses, £100,000 would have paid the wages of five disabled people, the car alone was £6,000 plus driver so £10,000 another two people for a year, his expenses would have been for the week at least £6,000 plus another employee, so in all seeing this pratt the BBC could have employed maybe eight disabled people for a year. How many people with a disability do the BBC employ, well it secret, but they do accept it's not as many as they could, in fact is 1% of the total. The government which employs a million people throughout the country only reach 1.8% of disabled people and I had this quote, working within the government can be hard work and would not suit all people with disabilities, yes most employers say the same.

Monday 26 November 2012

BBC

Today some hold a view that the past's "deserving poor" have been replaced by families living in council houses equipped with flat-screen TVs, games consoles and regular holidays.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20431729 It great to see the BBC used a picture of a scrounger from Coronation street. Of course the BBC would love us to think it pay no homage to the Labour or Tory parties, but each time Labour did a green paper on welfare, the BBC brought out a program about scroungers. so who were the people that demonized the sick the poor and the sick, well of course Tony Blair David Cameron Brown and Miliband with the great help of the media and the BBC wihich was at the forefront. Even now we have on TV saints and scroungers or is that sinners. What a bloody nerve

OK medical

Had my letter saying had to go miles to my medical (ESA WCA), so phoned up to say I would rather have a home visit the question was why, in a wheelchair, OK we will contact you within three weeks to let you know, we have now cancelled your medical which is in three weeks. Three days later I get a letter saying the doctor will contact you for your home visit. They said get any medical evidence which would help the person who will see you, so asked my GP who said he charges £500, asked my consultant who said that you have so much wrong with you, that it would be around £1500. So I will allow the DWP or ATOS to contact them top get the evidence, I do not think it will take to much for the person who comes to see me whether I'm faking it, of course whether that's enough is another question. We are hearing that ATOS has changed it's view on mental health issues, so then again I will have to ensure I cut my wrists when they arrive, may as well. Am I worried about this visit well I could do without it, but I do think we should have medicals the problem is we use to, it was Labour that stopped the medicals in the first place, then moaned that people were getting benefits without medicals, this was done on what is called paper evidence cheaper was the reason for this, like always you save a pound and then spend millions putting it right in the first place. lets see how this goes, it should be done and dusted before Christmas, mind you I retire in eighteen months.

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Hospital and out

This week I get told I've a serious health condition, my diabetes was not found at my last visit to my GP even though I said I was struggling, thirsty all the time and feeling seriously unwell, mind you these days we only have twelve minutes with your GP. They said to me your diabetic, I said well ok what do I need to do, take these drugs, and have a look on line, so I did, sadly I went to the USA diabetic site. Went back two days ago to state I was doing this and that, they said hold on that not right, so I asked what should I be doing well lose weight, yes but what should I eat and how to do I cope, time is up. Last week hospital when I started to feel ill, sick and cannot stop drinking to be told when did you get told about being diabetic and I said three months ago, we told your GP eighteen months ago. I asked why the hell did you not tell me. Mistakes were made and now we have to sort out your life, has anyone told you anything, nope. have they given you advice, nope. Are you on medication nope. And now we hear 24,000 people are dying a year from this illness, well one way of saving money.,