Another personal story from an Atos/Government victim, the numbers continue to grow by the day, when are the bloody MPs going to stop talking and actually put an end to this misery being inflicted upon the vulnerable in our society?
Paul Smith
Alias
I am 24 years old and was born with CHD (Congenital Heart Disease.) and have difficult mental health problems due to abuse I suffered as a child. I can have very good days, but 75% of the time I have very bad days where I am not able to walk to one side of the room to the other as I get breathless. Somedays I forget who I am.
I have been claiming ESA since January and so far have had two medical assessments. The first one put me in to the Work Related Activity group. The next day I received a questionnaire to fill in. Now being easily confused I was rather baffled as I had only just been put into this group. I phoned up the DWP and they informed me to send a letter with the form saying that I don’t have to fill it in. A week later I received a letter asking me to come to a medical assessment. I had just turned 5 months pregnant and it confused me and baffled me. So once again I rang the DWP and they informed me that I would have to fill in regular questionnaires (3 monthly.) and that I would have to go to any assessments. I was not informed of this in any communication that I received.
Fast forward to 8th May. My partner was not able to come to the assessment with me due to lack of funds. So I made my way to the depressingly familiar place. I took a book with me as I knew it would calm me. As I shuffled slowly to the building as this was one of my bad days. My circulation was causing pain in my legs and back (I get severe stiff in my legs due to poor circulation. It often brings me to tears and pain killers never seem to help.)
Twenty minutes after my appointment time I am called into the room. I follow the lady slowly as I am feeling breathless. She seems friendly so I am feeling a little reassured. I then enter the room. Its a bit big for its size. There is a black raised bed on side. Then all the way to the opposite end of the room is the workers desk with two chairs. Her chair is comfy whilst the one I am sat on is hard back and raised.
She begins to fire questions at me some of the intrusive and rather depressing.
“You say that you suffer from blackouts?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of blackouts”
“I lose time and some days can not remember what I have done.”
“Are you on medication for this?”
“Not currently as I am 5 months pregnant and cant take them as they could harm my baby.”
“Are you under a GP?”
“Yes.”
“Does your GP have evidence of this?”
“As far as I am aware.”
All of these extensive and sometimes repetitive questions went on for at least one hour. The room echoes so every time she types on her keyboard it rings out across the room. I am starting to feel dissociative and a little spaced. My back is hurting and I am close to tears.
Then she asks me to stretch my legs. All that seems to do is make it worse. Then she wants me to bend over. I cant its too painful. She can see that I am almost in tears, but it just doesn’t seem to matter.
By the time I released. I am feeling like a piece of cattle. I am not human and I had to go and sit down on a bench and cry. I am disabled woman with mental health problems, but I was made to feel like I am faker, I am a scrounger and I am less then human.
This is not the way you treat the vulnerable.
Atos needs to change and the government needs to get off there high horse and realize that all your doing is making disabled people sicker.
