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Benefit related deaths

Discussion in 'Other health news and research' started by Amw66, Aug 17, 2018.

  1. Amw66

    Amw66 Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    6,262
  2. Sean

    Sean Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    7,041
    Location:
    Australia
  3. Sly Saint

    Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    9,574
    Location:
    UK
  4. Inara

    Inara Senior Member (Voting Rights)

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    This reminds me of a UK politician who became sick and said what people face is euthanasia (I forgot the details, but the article was shared here).

    I am sure it's not so different in Germany or the US. Only, in Germany there are no numbers. But this could be a question for DRV etc. too...
     
  5. Sly Saint

    Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
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    Location:
    UK
    Job advert :
    "Nurse Functional Assessor - Highgate - London
    £44,500 per annum

    Are you a Registered General Nurse looking for a career with the following;

    • A better work life balance; with no evenings, weekends or bank holidays required?
    • A new challenge working in a non-clinical role with responsibilities that keep your skills up to date and guarantees support in working towards revalidation?
    • To work for an experienced organisation that encourages the training and development of its employees?
    If so then our client, the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA), are currently recruiting registered general nurses in your location. CHDA have a contract to carry out high quality assessments for ESA (Employment Support Allowance) claimants on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The CHDA's mission statement is 'to help customers move forward with their lives by providing a quality, sensitive and respectful service'."

    (and they wonder why there is a shortage of NHS staff)

    https://www.reed.co.uk/jobs/nurse-functional-assessor-highgate-london/35925655?source=searchResults
     
    MEMarge, Trish, Wonko and 2 others like this.
  6. Invisible Woman

    Invisible Woman Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    10,280
    I find it shocking that people with a genuine interest in healthcare and who have the smallest grain of interest in the well being of their fellow mankind prostitute their professional certification this way.

    Doctors, nurses and the like who are found to abuse or bring their profession into disrepute should be struck off and have that accreditation removed.

    They use their accreditation to get these jobs and then take no responsibility for the accuracy of their reports, or the wellbeing of the claimants.

    Why should they have it both ways?
     
    Last edited: Aug 24, 2018
  7. Trish

    Trish Moderator Staff Member

    Messages:
    51,867
    Location:
    UK
    To be fair, my daughter and I were incredibly lucky with our PIP assessor - we both had the same one a year or so apart. She was a nurse and was kind, understanding, and must have written an accurate report, because we both got the benefit. They are not all bad.
     
    NelliePledge, MEMarge, ArtStu and 3 others like this.
  8. Sly Saint

    Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    9,574
    Location:
    UK
    it would seem it is not as rosy as Maximus like to make out:
    "
    Maximus Employee Reviews

    "Waste of time targets targets targets
    They dont care about you or your growth no progression just make money for the company and go home
    Stressful and no duty of care"

    "Ruined my life:
    Left my career as a Senior Charge Nurse with the NHS to train as a Disability Analyst with Maximus. I failed the exam at the end of the training and was exited from the company. Ruthless company with no morals......If anyone reads this, avoid it with your life"

    "If you work for this company its like selling your soul to the devil !!:
    They gain applicants due to the salary and the promise that you will be working in your local area and then they send you all over the place. Very hard work, no breaks and they always want more. Management never give any positive comments."

    https://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/Maximus/reviews
     
  9. Invisible Woman

    Invisible Woman Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    10,280
    No they're not all bad @Trish.

    However, they get the jobs because of the status their accreditation brings, but that accreditation comes with responsibility.

    So, to my mind, if they then lie, or misrepresent the claimant, and the claimant is sanctioned, moved to a lesser benefit or had the benefit stopped causing them hardship, distress and possibly worsening their health, then they should have to take some personal responsibility for that.

    My experience has been better than most. Why? Probably just plain luck. Next time I might not be lucky. It shouldn't be down to luck. Especially not when people end up dying.
     
    NelliePledge, MEMarge, Wonko and 2 others like this.
  10. Snowdrop

    Snowdrop Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    2,134
    Location:
    Canada
    I wonder if there is something else going on. That is, some small percentage of claimants must make it through the process successfully in order to justify all those that do not. If no one got through the game would be rather transparent.

    It could be that the assessment was based less on objective measures and more on soft measures, the assessor liked you both (understandable :)).

    These days there are targets for almost everything in the work world rather than letting the statistical numbers fall where they may.

    It's just possible that I'm being fanciful on the other hand since I know nothing directly about any of this. I just imagine possibilities.

    The real culprit at the bottom of this is (as usual) money. The NHS is being squeezed dry. Good people are overworked. They look for something better that relieves the work burden and may even pay better (some proof to the lie of NO money). At some point though they do get sucked in realise too late perhaps and then become part of the problem. Most people will not speak out at this point because their personal lives depend on the deceit.

    At the hospital it's hard to mitigate the stress of dealing with the sick. In the new setting one simply blames the people who get rejected -- self preservation.
     
    NelliePledge, Philipp, Trish and 2 others like this.
  11. Sly Saint

    Sly Saint Senior Member (Voting Rights)

    Messages:
    9,574
    Location:
    UK
    just found this in a report done in 2016:
    "
    There are some very worrying levels of poor mental health among people receiving Employment and Support Allowance. Two thirds report common mental health problems and the same percentage report suicidal thoughts, with 43.2% having made a suicide attempt and one third (33.5%) self-harming, indicating that this is a population in great need of targeted support."

    It's not targeted mental health support that's needed; amazing that they don't see that the ESA system is largely to blame for causing the mental health issues.

    https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/fundamental-facts-about-mental-health-2016.pdf

    (it's actually quite a good report for stats etc)
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2018
    Inara, NelliePledge, MEMarge and 5 others like this.

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