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Disabled man starved to death after benefits cut when Atos declared him fit for work

foolsgold

foolsgold

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Disabled Mark Wood starved to death four months after his benefits were cut, an inquest heard.

The “frail and vulnerable” 44-year-old weighed just 5st 8lbs when he was found.

He had been declared fit to work by Atos, leaving him struggling to survive on just £40 a week, despite numerous health problems.

Mark died at his home in Bampton – part of David Cameron’s Oxfordshire constituency – in August last year.

He had Asperger syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder, in addition to cognitive behavioural problems, including a phobia of certain foods.

His GP Nicolas Ward told Oxford coroners court yesterday: “He was an extremely fragile individual who was coping with life.

"Something pushed him or affected him in the time before he died and the only thing I can put my finger on is the pressure he felt when his benefits were removed.”

Dr Ward added that he had not been contacted by Atos – the French-based firm that carries out benefit assessments – or the Department for Work and Pensions about his patient’s medical history.

He told the court that, had he been asked, he would have ruled him unfit for work.

Following last April’s assessment, Mark, described as “gentle and sweet”, lost his housing benefit and employment support, leaving him just £40 a week disability allowance – not even enough to cover his rent or utility bills.

Mark’s mum Jill Gant, from Abingdon, said the family knew nothing of his money problems until a few weeks before his death.

She gave him £250, but said that by then it was too late.

Mark’s sister Cathie Wood, 48, of North Oxford, said: “When the police found him, there was very little food in the house, just half a banana and a tin of tuna.”

She added: “Atos are completely to blame.

"Anyone who knew Mark’s complex problems would see he couldn’t work. ”

She added: “I’d like David Cameron and his Government to be aware of the personal cost of their policies and how they are affecting real people and causing real heartache.”

In a narrative verdict, Coroner Darren Salter said it was likely that Mark’s food phobias contributed to his death.

A spokesman for Atos Healthcare said: “We carry out assessments as professionally and compassionately as possible.”

A DWP spokesman added: “A decision on whether someone is well enough to work is taken only after thorough assessment.”

Tom Pollard, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Mind, said: “We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Mark Wood.

“Unfortunately this tragic case is not an isolated incident. We hear too often how changes to benefits are negatively impacting vulnerable individuals, who struggle to navigate a complex, and increasingly punitive, system.

“We know the assessment process for those applying for Employment and Support Allowance is very stressful, and too crude to accurately assess the impact a mental health problem has on someone’s ability to work.

“This leads to people not getting the right support and being put under excessive pressure which can make their health worse and push them further from the workplace.

“We urgently need to see a complete overhaul of the system, to ensure nobody else falls through the cracks.”



http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/disabled-mark-wood-starved-death-3194250#ixzz2v29AWpqB
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Maaaaaaannnnnnnn this is both fuckin tragic and fuckin typical :(

As was stated there, ATOS don't pay enough attention to people's mental health during the assesment n they + DWP don't realise the strain it puts on those suffering.
 
And the ones in power don't give a fuck; because as far as they are concerned, it is preferrable for a few poor people to die than for them to have to pay a few pounds more in tax. And it serves to keep the next tier up on their toes, as well; after all, they could be next.

It is too easy to blame the poor for their own poverty. What is also too easy is to forget that every penny paid in benefits to a poor person ends up straight in the pockets of a rich person. An eye-watering 16.666667 p out of every pound spent on everyday shopping goes straight to the tax collector, as VAT. That's a lot of money when you haven't got it.

There is an idea going around that taxes are automatically a bad thing. I think this is a very dangerous way to think. Taxes are what we pay in order to live in a civilised society. I actually like having well-lit, well-maintained roads, emergency services on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year (never had to call the fire brigade yet, touch wood; but I've been rushed to hospital in an ambulance, and been arrested and taken to the local nick in a police car no, that's not really the best example, even though it's true received help from my local constabulary, in the form of some highly informative crime prevention leaflets and a crime number for the benefit of my insurance company, following a burglary), free medical care (including the life-saving drugs salbutamol sulphate and beclomethasone dipropionate), a decent education system and yes, a safety net in case, absit omen, I should ever fall on hard times. I am under no illusion about what this costs, and I don't begrudge a penny of it because I actually get the benefit of it when it works.

Also, it's only fair that those who are benefitting the most from the system should make the greatest contribution towards it. If you run a business that makes lots of money employing lots of people, then your business benefits directly from your workers having access to the trappings of civilisation: paved roads, public transport, medical care, education, police &c. Without them, your workers would be worse off and therefore, so would you. It's called spreading it around a bit; sharing some of your profits with the people who helped you make them in the first place.

But here's me spouting peace and love and hippy bull$#!t when some poor people are dying because other, rich people would rather pay less in taxes.
 
^ Excellent post, Julie. Completely agree. Not that I can say much given how little tax I've paid over the years but I can honestly say that I would never complain about paying taxes and would certainly never try to evade or avoid them if I suddenly become some rich corporate cunt or summat. You're dead right - civilisation is a Good Thing. Well worth paying for. I never consider tax and NI to be part of my wages when I work anyway. Far less to complain about if you consider takehome pay to be your pay which, essentially, it is.

foolsgold said:
ive got to deal with this lot soon and i am sure they are going to look favourable on my drug induced personality disorders
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If/when ATOS tell you you're fit to work make sure to appeal it. It's summat stupid like 70% of all ATOS decisions get overturned on appeal. They really are the most appalling hatchet-merchants. The DSP itself is far more reasonable and does seem more or less sane when it comes to decisions on fitness to work - particularly where mental health is involved where it's abundantly clear ATOS simply do not give two fucks.

What's even worse is it must cost the taxpayer a bleedin' fortune coughing up for the ATOS contract only for the vast majority of the "work" they do having to be redone by the DSP anyway. Typical of Tory cutback/savings (or Labour - whichever bunch o' morons brought ATOS in). Soooooooo short-sighted. But handy if you (or a close friend or relative) happen to have shares in ATOS, I'm sure :\
 
Shambles said:
I never consider tax and NI to be part of my wages when I work anyway. Far less to complain about if you consider takehome pay to be your pay which, essentially, it is.
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This.

I think job advertisements should show typical expected wages after tax (which unfortunately won't be correct for everyone, since there are bound to be cases when someone is not paying tax at the typical rate, e.g. because they are doing two jobs) in larger print than before tax (which they should still show anyway, for the benefit of those people or whoever they pay to do their maths for them). Showing only the before-tax figure, which will already have have had some shaved off before you even see it, just looks like a way to breed resentment.
Shambles said:
What's even worse is it must cost the taxpayer a bleedin' fortune coughing up for the ATOS contract only for the vast majority of the "work" they do having to be redone by the DSP anyway. Typical of Tory cutback/savings (or Labour - whichever bunch o' morons brought ATOS in). Soooooooo short-sighted. But handy if you (or a close friend or relative) happen to have shares in ATOS, I'm sure :/
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Absolutely.

The original idea of the Penny Post was that working out the exact price of sending a letter based on distance would cost more than just charging the same rate from anywhere, to anywhere. Similarly, there must come a point where working out exactly who is entitled to exactly how much in benefits becomes more costly than just paying everyone the same amount, and sucking up the fact that some people are getting "more than they deserve" rather than spending more of your own hard-earned just to ensure they get less.
 
tbh if he wasn't such a scrounger he wouldn't have died. Get a job ffs.
 
Quite right. The Poor have only themselves to blame for being that way! If they simply lived in smaller houses, they could save money on rent and heating. If they have not got proper jobs like normal people, then they must have time to do other things instead, such as make things from scratch instead of buying them. Even if they do not have gardens or allotments, there are plenty of edible weeds, if one only takes the time to read a library book; and even rat, squirrel or pigeon can be quite tasty, if prepared properly. If one lives near a busy highway, marking existing carcases with spray paint allows the identification of fresh roadkill -- and one can of paint can easily last many years, if used prudently. Why! The Poor could be so much better off, if only they would apply themselves a little, instead of complaining!

Lovely view from this ivory tower, eh?!
 
Y'know the scary thing is that I could absolutely see that all being said in complete seriousness by some odious governmental toad - or shadow odious governmental toad, they're all much of a muchness in the odious toad stakes. Irony and sarcasm can be scary beasts when politicunts are involved. They appear to now know the difference between such things and actual policy.
 
ATOS have apparently withdrawn their 'services' for assessing DLA benefits. The numerous death threats and picketing became too hot for them to handle. Not sure who is gonna take over from ATOS. They'll probably out-source it to a helpdesk in Bangalore or something like that to save a few quid. aia wouldnt be all that surprised if they did.
 
Well that's pretty good news on the face of it. As you say, it rather depends on what the DWP decide to do with the contract. They really should keep it in-house cos it's almost certainly gonna work out cheaper - short-term savings vs lomg-term costs and all that - but they're bound to sell it off to some other ropey organisation. It's the Tory way, after all. Actually it's also the Labour way these days. Surely whoever gets it can't be any worse than fukkin ATOS though... surely... surely?
 
What will they do with pending claims now? I am 6 months over due an ESA assessment so am stuck on £60 a week and I have been waiting nearly 4 months to hear back about my Dla claim. I am struggling enough as it is and would rather not have to worry so much about basic living things such as being able to have electric/gas and eating 1 cooked meal a day as at the moment I cant do any of those things.
 
Hmm.... good question. The last thing anybody with pending claims needs is yet another reason for the DWP to drag their feet. I'd speak to the disability advisor (or whoever they'll allow you to speak to) at your local JobCentre and/or phone the helpline. May well be worth trying CAB too. It's amazing how much faster things seem to happen when they know you have somebody who knows the system dealing with your claim and keeping notes on everything that happens.

And good luck - is no fun being left dangling and six months is frikkin ridiculous. The one pluspoint I can see is that if your claim is approved you should be due all the extra you should've been getting these last six months as a lump sum. At least afaik you should. I got lost off their system for three months when being transferred from Income Support to ESA - that's three months without a penny to live on or towards rent and council tax. Got the local advice centre onto 'em eventually after getting precisely nowhere myself for all that time and it was sorted within the morning with a lump sum for three months back pay in my account a day or two later and - most impressive of all - an actual apology and admission of being at fault themselves and no fault on my part. Should've framed that cos I doubt many get one of those letters :\
 
Cheers Shambles for the reply man. Yeah that is good to know, I may call Cab tomorrow now. I have rung various 0845 numbers about my claim just to be told they have a lot of people waiting to be assessed. Saying that a friend was signed off and went on Esa 1 month after I did and as he was going to rehab the doctor wrote 'drug addict' on the sick notes -harsh isn't it... Anyway after he was on it 4 months they sent a letter to him and said he did not need any sick notes for 2 years and his money would double nearly to £230 every 2 weeks and he got a extra £30 a week for attending a work focus group for 1 hour a week which he has never been too. He lives at home with his mum by the way, I live on my own and they expect me to survive on £60 a week? How is that fair, I really don't get it. I don't want much, I just want to be able to pay for the bare living essentials while I sort my shit out and get back to being able work and have some sort of life. I don't spend any benefit money on tv of any sort, phone credits/contracts, baccy or drugs and I can not afford to live.
 
Poor guy. I don't know how these fuckers sleep at night. Almost everyone has sympathy for disabled children, but they forget that they lose the cute factor and become disabled adults and this is what lies in wait for them.

We all know that most people win on appeal, but who can you get to help? The CAB are snowed under and all other resources seem to be disappearing too. Is there no way that people with experience of fighting these arseholes can be matched up with those who need help? Obviously, a professional advisor would be best, but in the absence of this surely some kind of mentoring or support sharing could be an option?

Please slap me with some facts if this already exists. I am a Carer and I'd be happy to help someone fight or just hold their hand if needs be. I'm no expert, but I have successfully taken them on more than once. bacon face talks about the big society, but despite the will to help one another, the organisation just isn't there.
 
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