UK: Psychological tyranny prescribed by the DWP: preventable harm is government policy, 2018, Stewart

https://bjgp.org/content/68/677/579

 

I find this quite interesting. I always wondered how it can be that the assessor disregarded all the medical reports, just like that, as if it wasn't time- and energy- and money-consuming for all parties, and instead already knew it's psychosomatic. I already felt it must be institutional. That's in Germany though, and here no one admits that it's policy. But now I understand.

I don't know where it was, but someone pointed out that the DWP is a company. The German DRV writes on their homepage: "Information about the company" and "company profile". (But it's not a GmbH like other agencies.)
https://www.deutsche-rentenversiche...rnehmen/infos_zum_unternehmen_index_node.html

I am wondering if I'd get a reply if I made a FOI-request about this: Are there official instructions about the dismissal of medical reports?

 

Something along the lines of medical reports are always reviewed before a decision is made.

In practice only relevant medical reports are reviewed, and all medical reports not completed by one of the DWPs client companies, within 3 months, are not relevant. The DWP ignored a report, done for them, by an ATOS doctor, that was only 6 months old, in favour of one done by a paramedic who didn't even seem to know what diabetes was, let alone ME or aspergers. To save some money, or hit a target. They don't care about what's right, what's fair, only what they can get away with.

So whatever they say the way it's actually done seems obvious.

 

Geez, at least try to phrase it a bit differently than "work will set you to take responsibility for your own financial future".

This reeks of "the only disability is a bad attitude" inspiration porn. Spoken like a person who has only ever experienced privilege.

 

A different viewpoint in the comments section:

https://bjgp.org/content/68/677/579/tab-e-letters

 

"with an NHS report advising that 50% of ESA claimants had attempted suicide at some point.8"

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.c...ly-half-esa-claimants-have-attempted-suicide/"

There are TV ads in the US by lawyers to policy holders to sue UNUM for unlawful denial of benefits.

 

This puzzles me. Who estimated that figure, and on what basis was it arrived at?

Once someones commited suicide then, after the costs of getting someone to confirm they are probably dead, and the cost of setting fire to them, where does the other £1,699,000 go?

 

Probably from actuarial estimates of a full productive adult life. I've seen some estimates that such a life is worth something like $6-7M on aggregate, based on how much people contribute economically, through work and taxes and so on. It's more about lost opportunity than actual expenses. Although on that last point suicide is less expensive than lifelong chronic illness so we're even more expensive than that.