DISABLED people and supporters demonstrated outside the Norwich offices of ATOS last Friday, 11 January, to demand an end to the Work Capability Assessments (WCA) and the closure of the inaccessible ATOS office in Norwich.
Mark Harrison of the Norfolk Coaltion of Disabled people told News Line: ‘I’m here today because the government are targeting disabled people as part of their austerity programme.
‘Thousands and thousands of people all over the country are experiencing the ‘Work Capability Assessment’ by the mercenaries who work for ATOS, who are just carrying out the Department of Work and Pensions business.
‘The government are targeting ordinary working class people, disabled people, poor people for their austerity programme which is about preserving the system as it is by trying to save the rich.’
There was a lively demonstration of people with disabilities and their carers outside the ATOS office in Norwich.
Wheelchair-bound Maria Stewart, who is chairperson of the Norfolk Association of Disabled LGBT (Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people, said: ‘The reason we are here is because the government is targeting the most vulnerable members of society which are the sick and disabled, including the mentally ill.
‘People with disabilities are living in fear – of being told they’re fit to work when they’re clearly not. This is happening.
‘Many disabled people have been declared fit to work by ATOS, which is a French company, which is being dictated to by the DWP.
‘They are making our lives a misery.
‘They do not have medically qualified standards.
‘The person you see, the assessor, does not have knowledge of the special condition or disease of the individual being assessed.
‘People who are really ill are told they are fit to work. Then they have to appeal. Many have died before the appeal comes up, from the worry or the illness itself.
‘For example, terminally ill people with cancer, given six months to live, have been told they are fit to work.
‘You have to get 15 points before you can be declared not fit for work. Some cancer patients have been allocated 0 points.
‘This fear is ruining our lives. They are taking money from us. They are changing from DLA to PIP ( personal independence payments ) so we are much worse off.
‘They have changed the rules. There are two elements; mobility and care.
‘The mobility rules have changed. To get the higher rate of mobility allowance you used to have to be unable to walk more than 50 steps. Now they say you have to be unable to walk more than 20 steps. Many will have to give up their mobility transport.
‘Other people have been refused DLA because they live alone. Even with a carer coming in every day they are told they can manage and are refused DLA.
‘The media and the government propaganda machine are used against us.
‘Instead of calling us sick and disabled, they say we are work shy and benefit scroungers.
‘The majority of the public believe that 40-70% of disability claims are fraudulent. In actual fact only 0.7% of DLA cases are fraudulent.
‘223 patients with disability die a week. This includes three groups, the largest is those awaiting results of their assessment.
‘The second group are those in support groups. The third group is those found fit to work. Of course some of these deaths are due to the illness itself, but many are due to the stress.’
She added: ‘Assessments should only be done by someone who is medically qualified and knows your individual condition.
‘A lot of these assessments are done by physiotherapists and occupational therapists with no knowledge of your medical history.
‘ATOS should be sacked. They have to focus on making profit.
‘The government should not be cutting benefits.
‘There should be a positive image of people with disabilities. Many can and do work.
‘The Tory government should be removed. I would prefer a socialist system run for people’s needs. The Labour government let us down.
‘The government are making a huge divide between rich and poor.’
Her co-chairperson, KT, said: ‘We have to look at the history of society.
‘In times of recession, instead of protecting the weak, they target the weak. They start with immigrants and the disabled and unemployed.
‘We need to protect the weak before scape goating and blaming someone else.’
Julie Brociek-coulten, a city councillor, is in the Norwich access group which looks at buildings in Norwich with a view to improving the access for the disabled.
She said: ‘This ATOS office is on an upper floor. The lift is very small and some wheel chairs cannot get in it.
‘If the person arrives 10 minutes late for the appointment, you don’t get another chance and your money is cut for six months. Some people have committed suicide.
‘ATOS should not be making these assessments.’
Martin Symons, who uses a wheel chair, said: ‘ATOS should not be doing these assessments. It should be GPs. Lots of people with disability cannot work.’
Meanwhile, as many as 200 trade unionists, community organisations, families, youth and students gathered outside Goldsmith’s College where BBC Question Time was being broadcast last Thursday night, to oppose the closure of Lewisham Hospital’s A&E and acute and maternity services.’
The crowd cheered when a banner ‘Save our NHS’ banner was unfurled from the balcony where the meeting was taking place.
Barry Still, from Tower Hill Deptford, said: ‘I have lived in south east London all my life, and now live in Lee, and I feel strongly that this is my patch and it is of the utmost importance to defend these services.
‘I suffered a hypoglycaemic attack where I lost consciousness. My friends took me to the A&E at Lewisham Hospital and if it had not been there then I would have been in the utmost trouble.’
Florence Stenceil said: ‘Paying back the interest of the PFI loans has crippled the NHS and it is this debt that is driving this closure plan.
‘We want the bankers to cancel the debt so all the NHS hospitals can keep going.’
Her classmate Leonara, a student at Goldsmiths in her last year of a Sociology and politics degree, said: ‘We are taught all the theories about economics but, in reality, capitalism isn’t working.
‘The question is how to bring about change is something that is not even approached.’
During the programme members of the audience criticised both Labour and Tory panellists for their hypocrisy towards the NHS and the huge benefits cuts which both parties have sanctioned.
A speaker from the audience said: ‘The views of the people in Lewisham, all the GPs and the community have been deliberately ignored by (Trust Special Administrator) Kershaw, and the plan for Lewisham Hospital was hidden away in an annex to an appendix in the draft report.
‘It wasn’t in the consultation document and then, when I looked at the plan, every single entrance to the hospital was going to be sold off and our new Accident and Emergency, Maternity and Critical Care units were all going to be sold off.’
