Gina Ravens
15 April 2013
‘I’m grateful to my Facebook friend, Jan Bailey for bringing this issue to my consciousness……..
…… I bumped into Dr Mason on my way out. He had come to look for me for two reasons, an operation occurring this Thursday 18th April to extract a chest tesio catheter, now my fistula was reliably able to be used for blood line access ( I needed details of coming off warfArin before surgery), and about the “wretched form”. He explained his difficulty was medical confidentiality, that he could write a “to whom” letter as the GP had done, and could describe the process, the necessity of the process and the time it took each week, and that this time could not be compromised. He does not know me we’ll enough to know more details than that. I will receive the letter by Wednesday, he said.
The DWP has not prepared medical professionals for their requirements, in fact, not directly questioning the professionals, but expecting the patient to gather evidence is contrary to their training. Not only is the onus on the provision of the required information wrong, but they then circumvent the system to achieve two things.
1. to rely on insufficient evidence being presented, thereby forcing people who should qualify for benefits off those same benefits, and
2. avoiding payment of fees for requiring information from Medical people, turning them into bureaucrats and putting the onus on the patient to know what to ask for.
The DWP are once again cheating the deserving of benefits by devious means, contributing to to the poverty and inappropriate assigning of disabled people to the work group. Protocol and common sense should direct them to use the established methods, or to prepare medical professionals adequately for a change in protocol. Instead, they open up a huge fault line in between and leave those dependent on benefits to fall into the gaping chasm. I would suggest anyone and everyone copy and paste, or direct your MP to this blog, or quote details of it. We need media and opposition to be aware of this breach of protocol, and those who have run foul of it to be re-tested.
It is my belief that these changes have come about as a means to get people off needed benefits in order to save money, and this exposes far too many dependent people to penury, or to inappropriately being placed on JSA.
The need of Government to reduce expenditure is irrelevant to the people who require state support because they are too ill to work. Let government find a solution to their requirements without endangering the vulnerable. Let’s be really fair, not just fair from the perspective of the wealthy.
