The Social-Care I need (from Trafford Council)…

Today is 8th August. Each year this marks the international-day for Severe M.E.-awareness. Inter alia I suffer myself from Severe M.E. My condition has been deteriorating for over two decades.

*

[Image description: Facebook screenshot of post from August 2017, when I was being appropriately cared for.]

Five years ago I received care-calls at 11.00 (brunch), 16.00 (shower) & 20.00 (dinner). A year ago Trafford Council cut back my calls to just 16.00 & 20.00. Apart from failures to prompt me and care for me across the board, specifically it has resulted in mostly one meal per day at 20.00 and (until a charity heard about my plight and sent me a hydration-system) I was only receiving four cups (not beakers/mugs) of water each day, two of which were medicated. Despite repeated complaints I am now at the juncture where legal-action looks like the only means to obtain appropriate care.

Having finally lodged a formal complaint with the CEO of Trafford Council about their failure to adequately or appropriately care for me, I turned to revising my carer-duties list in order to be as explicit as I possibly can about my needs. I do not consider that they are outlandish. Rather, they are the basics that ensure I have a quality-of-life instead of an inadequacy-of-life.

It took the CEO’s PA just over three weeks to send a holding-response, to which I have replied.

Does anyone consider anything on my list as outlandish or unreasonable? Trafford Council considers that the vast majority of this list is not appropriate, otherwise they would have ensured that I was receiving the support requested. Recall, I have dire active-memory. Yes, I can remember items when expending a great deal of energy that causes me pain and excessive & exhausting fatigue; but I can only do so in short bouts before needing a few days to recover.

[Image description: Fitbit heart-rate read-out for the day I wrote to the council. The peak just after three a.m. is a nocturnal visit to the w.c. - a return hobble of 6 metres. The peak at nine p.m. is me trying to concentrate on writing an email - something I am finding increasingly difficult to do.]

Oh, and I do not take delivery of three lots of shopping in a week, except at Christmas, Easter and special personal celebrations; so the carers usually only have to deal with one lot of shopping.

Whilst compiling this list, I reälised that in over a decade of being under the care of Trafford Council, not once has any carer asked me:

if I want to comb my hair or need assistance therewith;

if I want to brush my beard & moustache or need assistance therewith;

if I want to trim my beard & moustache or need assistance therewith;

if I want to shave or need assistance therewith; or

if I want to moisturise my skin or need assistance therewith.

I cannot tell whether all clients are thusly failed or whether it is a case of sexism rearing its ugly head.

Would you the reader be happy not being groomed on a daily basis?

Please feel free to comment and give your opinions as to whether or not I am being unreasonable in my requests.

*

Most folk with Severe M.E. are similarly failed by the NHS - including G.P.s , by LEA Social-Services departments, by the DWP, by society at large and even by families who only see the caricatures of the illness propagated by the UK’s mostly ultra-right-wing media.

	Action	Location	Notes	M	Tu	W	Th	F	Sa	Su
	Prepare phosphate-water - use water from utility-room right tap.	Utility-room	Beakers & tabs in RH cupboard above main surface.
	Last call: prepare fresh water-bottle for hydration-system.	Utility-room
	Collect blister-pack & take to Colin along with phosphate-water.	Hall	Ought to be on carer-station.
	Supervise & ensure Colin takes meds.	Bedroom
	Remind Colin to do physio stretches of hands & feet whilst lying.	Bedroom
	Supervise Colin doing physio stretches of neck & torso whilst sitting on bed-edge.	Bedroom	If Colin wobbles, tell him to stop.
	Check how Colin is, how he slept.	Bedroom
	Check if urine-bottle needs emptying: flush down wc; wash with soapy water.	Bedroom/en suite
	Check whether heated bean-bag/hot-water bottle(s) [HWBs] needed.	Bedroom
	Check how much water/liquid, if anything, Colin has drunk.	Bedroom
	Check whether water-cup needs refilling - use en suite right tap.	Bedroom/en suite
	Prompt Colin to drink by suggesting a juice/coffee/tea/milk/can of pop/COMPLAN if off food or ill/etc.	Bedroom
	Check what, if anything, Colin has eaten.	Bedroom
	First call: Prompt Colin to eat by suggesting some cereal/toast/sandwich/salad/cheese & crackers/boiled-egg/etc.	Bedroom
	Check whether T-shirt needs changing and assist if necessary.	Bedroom
	Remind Colin to use a face-wipe if he cannot use bathroom.	Bedroom
	Remind Colin to wash if he can use bathroom, but cannot shower.	En suite
	Check whether Colin wants to trim beard or shave.	En suite
	Supervise shower by listening out for fall or call for assistance.	Various
	Prepare food-tray, as required + paper-towel/serviette/napkin.	Kitchen
	Last call: prepare bowl of fruit (see FAQs) & snacks + paper-towel/serviette/napkin.	Kitchen/hall
	Last call: If housemate unavailable, prepare, cook & serve hot meal.	Kitchen	A selection of ambient foods is in green tub in bedroom.
	Prepare heated bean-bag/HWBs as needed.	Kitchen
	Remind Colin to turn off shower's power-supply.	En suite
	Remind Colin to moisturise.	En suite
	Use squeegy to wipe shower door & use daily-spray to clean shower, if Colin unable.	En suite
	Remind Colin to use deodorant.	En suite
	Remind Colin to clean teeth or mouth-wash if unable to brush & then supervise.	En suite	If Colin wobbles, tell him to stop.
	If Colin is bedridden, proffer bowl & mouth-wash.	Bedroom
	Check whether Colin wants to comb hair & support if necessary.	Bedroom
	Check whether Colin wants to brush beard & support if necessary.	Bedroom
	If Colin is out of bed, check he is wearing pendant-alarm.	Various
	Last call: check whether Colin needs circulation tablet.	Bedroom
	EXTRA DUTIES
	Monday: Get dustbins from garage & place by hedge at front of house, if housemate unavailable.
	Tuesday 1st call: Return dustbins to garage, if housemate unavailable.
	Tuesday last call: Sterilise hydration-system with mild Milton & drain in utility-room.
	Wednesday 1st call: Bring in Able & Cole food-shop from garden; wash fruit/veg to drain in kitchen; put away chilled food; leave ambient for housemate to d/w.
	Thursday 1st call: Bring in Riverford food-shop from garden; wash fruit/veg to drain in kitchen; put away chilled food; leave ambient for housemate to d/w.
	Friday 1st call: Collect shopping from Waitrose (16.00-18.00 slot); bring back; wash fruit/veg to drain in kitchen; put away chilled food; leave ambient for housemate to d/w.
	Saturday: Change bed-linens.
	Sunday: X

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2018

Today is International Day for People with Disabilities (#IDPD2018).

[Image description: the writer in wheelchair sporting WoWPetition paraphernalia]

Here in the UK, matters are deteriorating for disabled folk. Despite treaty obligations, the UK has reduced support for individuals with disabilities. For example, Legal Aid to take action to enforce one’s rights when one has been discriminated against, has been so severely restricted, that is now almost impossible to access one’s rights. Social Security benefits have been reduced or even taken away from individuals. This has then resulted in people having their Motability vehicles, their mobility-scooters and even electric wheelchairs taken from them. Multiple reports, including several by UN agencies, have castigated the UK Government, but they pay no heed. Instead the Conservative Executive continue with dogmatic policies with no evidence base and ignoring the great harms they have caused and still do. The Tories even ignore the evidence that some of their policy changes cost more than the policies they replaced. The UK Parliament also issues reports evidencing the damage done, but has proved impotent when it comes to taking any actions to counter the heinous actions of the Government and its agency the notorious Department for Work and Pensions (aka DWP - which is found to be constantly in breach of the Law but it considers itself above the Law) nor rein them in. The UN itself has also shown it is powerless to enact change for the better in the United Kingdom.

Between 1:5 and 1:6 UK citizens have a disability. WE deserve to be able to work, shop, travel, have relationships, enjoy entertainment, participate in sport, gain an education, just like the majority of Brits. We very often cannot.

Even when we have the ability and the relevant qualifications, we struggle to access the world of work due to the built environment and prejudice, having a much lower employment-rate than non-disabled folk.

The Government has come up with Purple Tuesday, one day a year when disabled people will be treated fairly and assisted at the shops. Imagine if you were limited to a single day per year when you might access all shops!

Around half of all train-stations are inaccessible to many disabled, and for that matter elderly folk, because they are not step-free.

Social services, G.P.s, carer agencies and even charities fail to support people with disabilities who want to explore relationships. As far as I am aware there is not a single English social services department that enquires after a disabled person’s sexual needs. Nor are there any who offer support in pursuing a relationship.

Many places of entertainment are inaccessible to all kinds of disabled folk. Wheelchair-users are frequently barred from entering night-clubs, bars, restaurants, pubs, cinemas and theatres. But they are not the only kind of disabled to be so treated. Folk with learning disabilities are also frequently refused permission to enter such establishments.

Many swimming-pools are inaccessible to folk who become less disabled once they can actually enter the water. Many Premier League stadia do not provide the mandatory number of places for disabled folk.

Statistics consistently and continuously show that folk with disabilities do not achieve as well as their non-disabled peers, due to lack of opportunities, discrimination by schools, failure by local education authorities to provide adequate home-teaching, and so on.

Only UK voters can ensure the position ameliorates. Alas, too many refuse to vote (abstain) or choose to vote wilfully blindly, without considering the consequences to people with disabilities let alone the effects of their vote on the rest of British society.

Please, when next you vote, consider the ramifications on others of that x!

#DisabilityRights #DisabilityDiscrimination #DisabilityHate #DisabilityDeath

________________________________________________________________
You can support the current WoWCampaign on Twitter or go to wowpetition.co.uk

Another Office for Disability Issues Fail

It has emerged that the UK Government refused to spend £125 + V.A.T. to obtain a statistical anaysis from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) into employment rates in respect to disabled individuals finding work. It was left to a disability people’s organisation (DPO), Inclusion London, to pay for the research. The Disability News Service (DNS) article can be found here. The item quotes Ellen Clifford of the DPO:

“Studies have confirmed that unsuitable employment is worse for people’s health than no employment.”

And it should be borne in mind that much self-employed work does not earn sufficient for most workers to have a decent standard of living. In other words the self-employed tend to be less wealthy than those in full-time equivalent employed positions.

Ellen Clifford ‘urged the government to “look at the types of jobs and work that disabled people are moving or potentially being pushed into and to address issues of quality instead of making the aim to get people off out-of-work benefits at any cost”.’

I should suggest that there are other issues that also need to be investigated: 

*   the appropriateness of the work to the individual, taking into consideration the nature of impediments, health & well-being;

*   whether the work creates sufficient income from effort expounded, bearing in mind that those with impairments &/or serious health issues have a much higher cost of living than non-disabled/healthy workers;

*   and, does the work have long-term or even medium-term potential.

Surely these are issues that the Office for Disability Issues (#ODI) - a fiefdom of the notorious Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) - ought to have been investigating as a matter of course. The fact they would not spent £125 + V.A.T., against a budget of £millions, to even do the initial investigation is outrageous. It also further demonstrates the UK Government’s continuing systematic failures to adequately and appropriately support disabled folk.

This is further evidence of the department’s, and of course thus the Government’s, ongoing disability discrimination. Given this has been continuing  since 2010, despite the United Nation’s (UN) reports of grave and catastrophic violations towards British disabled folk, one can only infer that the Conservative Party (the current ruling group) is riddled with hate for disabled folk.

The Establishment is Destroying the UK

Looking back on the past year, I am not certain ¨society¨ as such is to blame for the milieu in the UK, but rather the individuals who make up our communities.

Many of my Facebook friends refuse to participate in anything ¨political¨ - even intelligent individuals who must realise that all issues affecting the individual/community/society are political. In some cases it is apathy; for some it is fear of repercussions by the powers-that-be (DWP; intelligence services; etc.); but there are simply far too many folk who just do not care for anyone outside their immediate loved ones. This is why despite all the reasons put forward why BREXIT will harm each and everyone of us, so many folk have NOT changed their minds. They are only looking out for themselves. They do NOT care for others. This is a mass failure of empathy, of mutual responsibility.

Neo-liberal politicians of so-called left/centre/right have undermined the tax and social security systems and the justifications for shared social goods.

They have been aided and abetted by the MSM, which of course only pushes the agendas of their respective billionaire owners. Folk are inculcated into believing that the poor, elderly, disabled, underemployed, single mothers, refugees, migrants, and whoever-else can be picked upon, are all stealing from the hard-workers’ pockets.

Society is NOT the problem.

The Establishment, the powerful élite are the problem. And they are not going to relinquish power, influence nor wealth.

PIP at last

The letter (image of letter-heading below) from the DWP regarding my Personal Independence (PIP) claim arrived whilst I was in Barcelona.

I have been granted the "enhanced rate" for both mobility AND daily living needs. Furthermore, I have been given a rare (per benefitsandwork site) "ongoing" status - which I have now determined means I am "unlikely to get either better or worse" in the future.

However, apparently DWP can randomly decide to check whenever they wish - so it is hardly re-assuring and is certainly not giving me any sense of settled stability. So it looks as if I shall be on the anti-anxiety meds until such time as the DWP is reformed or the PIP laws are altered to be less intrusive & menacing.

Oh, I have just found a section which states that they will check me again after 22nd May 2027. To all intents & purposes knowing such still makes no difference, due to the we-can-check-on-you-at-any-time catch-all clause.

I was awarded 28 points for daily living (12 points needed to get enhanced rate) and 16 points for mobility (also 12 points needed to get enhanced rate). I disagree with some of the points given; but there is little point in arguing as it would make no material difference and would simply delay payments being made to me.

The decision-maker's conclusion reads:

I made my decision using information about your health condition or disability including details of any treatment, medication, test results and symptoms. This information is the best we have available and enough to decide how much help you need without aface to face consultation.As your needs vary, my decision is based on the help you need most days.The information shows your health condition or disability causes you great difficulty with Daily Living activities.The information shows your health condition or disability causes you great difficulty planning and following journeys and moving around.This is consistent with your medical history, the available evidence and the information you provided about how your disability affects you. (sic)

The award letter is ten pages long. After three read-throughs I think I have grasped it and that the above are the pertinent points.

In conclusion I ought to feel happy & relieved; but I feel no sense of satisfaction and still very much unsettled by it all.

Per ATOS/DWP: Able to Leave Home, Fit to Travel Anywhere

Those poor folk at ATOS appear to be working the bank holiday as I have just received a response to the complaint I did not make!

On 24th May ATOS issued the following letter in respect to my last email to them, outlined in my previous blog-post, ATOS & DWP question whether disabled can go abroad.

Dear Mr Hunter

Thank you for your recent communication, in which you expressed concerns regarding your application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

An investigation will now take place into the issues you have raised and we aim to complete our investigation within 20 working days. However, if the investigation takes longer than anticipated I will continue to update you of our progress.

Should you have any queries in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team on the above telephone number or myself at the address below.

Yours sincerely

Annmarie Cowley

Client Relations Officer
Atos Healthcare
PIP Customer Relations
PO Box 1006
Stockton-on-Tees
TS19 1UL

Today's response is:

Dear Mr Hunter

Thank you for your email, in which you express your concerns with regard to your application for Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

As part of Atos Healthcare’s commitment to provide a service of the highest standard, it is important that we continue to be open and receptive to the views of those whose lives are affected by the service that we provide. I am, therefore, grateful for your feedback.

I understand from your correspondence that after you received a letter for a face to face assessment you contacted the Customer Service Centre and the Agent requested a Home Consultation (HC) which unfortunately was denied.

Home Consultations (HC) are reserved for claimants who do not leave their properties for any reason due to their conditions. In some instances, exceptions can be made to this rule providing that certain criteria can been met. Upon review of your questionnaire, it was established that you were able to travel abroad therefore could attend an Assessment Centre (AC), however you have explained the circumstances behind this and a Paper Based Review (PBR) has been completed after Atos Healthcare spoke with health professionals involved in your care.

I am pleased to tell you that the report has now been completed and returned to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), for a decision to be made. For any further update the DWP can be contacted on 0345 850 33 22.

This concludes the investigation carried out in regards to your complaint. I understand you feel we have not met your expectations during this time and I would like to apologise for
any distress or upset caused; I can assure you this is never our intention. I do hope that any future dealings you may have with our service will not cause you any further concern.

Yours sincerely,

Annmarie Cowley

Apparently: "Home Consultations (HC) are reserved for claimants who do not leave their properties for any reason due to their conditions."

What an absurd position!

You can get to a hospital appointment - no HC

You can get to your GP's - no HC
 
You can get to the dentist - no HC
 
You can get to the optician - no HC
 
You can get to the podiatrist - no HC
 
You can get to the physiotherapist - no HC
 
You can be wheeled out for a breath of fresh air - no HC

Such absolutist stances are disablist and contrary to common-sense. No account is taken of fluctuating conditions; the need for medication prior to, during and post appointments, nor their effects on one's mental capabilities; the ability or not to travel over distance; the amount of stress, whether physical &/or emotional; the need for support to attend appointments; the ability to travel on public-transport; and so on.

And note: I only got somewhere because I had the gumption to stand up for myself and wrote back to ATOS pointing out the stupidity of their position. Most folk would probably have done as instructed, i.e. refer back to the DWP. At the point where I raised the possibility that attending a medical examination centre would not be possible, ATOS ought then to have acted pro-actively and contacted my medics for their medical opinions. I had to press them to do so.

Health is not black and white: if x then y. It is innumerable shades of grey: if a then b or c or d or…

ATOS' standard of healthcare is illogical, unreasonable and contrary to common-sense and additionally costs the tax-payers of the country each time they carry out a review. As I stated previously, if ATOS returns cases to the DWP, they can then claim a further payment for a further review.

Scotland is getting rid of private contractors from the social security system. It's about time England followed suite!

 

 

ATOS & DWP question whether disabled can go abroad

 

[Image description: writer in his NHS adapted wheelchair, covered

in a blanket & large cabin-bag for meds, at Manchester Airport]

As my conditions pejorate and my state of general health deteriorates, I am only ever going to get worse. At the current time there is no chance of amelioration let alone cure.

Over the last few assessments for ESA (Employment & Support Allowance) & DLA (Disability Living Allowance - now being replaced with PIP [Personal Independence Payment]), I have either had a decision made on the paperwork or ATOS have sent round a doctor to carry out the medical assessment at home.

For some odd reason, this time ATOS do not wish to send round a medic. Nor, for that matter, are they willing to contact my G.P. - details of which were on the claim-form - to determine whether what I say is true.

I suspect the absurd in/actions of #ATOS belie the reason for behaving so obtusely: if they send the paperwork back to DWP and then it is referred back to ATOS, the latter private company gets a second fee.

The email I received a day or so ago from Charlotte (a bot I believe as she is always sorry for the delay!) at ATOS:

Good Morning Mr Hunter,

Thank you for your email and I apologise for the delay in my response.


Unfortunately a Home Consultation has been declined as the information on your PIP Questionnaire which you filled out advises that you were going abroad in March and also in June and as you are able to travel you would be expected to attend an assessment centre.

If you are not able to attend an assessment centre this may result in the claim being sent back to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you wish to take it up with them directly you would need to contact them I am not able to provide an email address for the DWP.

I am sorry I cannot help you further at this stage.

With Kind Regards

Charlotte

PIP Customer Service Support
Atos Healthcare

P.O.Box 1006

Stockton - on - Tees

TS19 1UL

Well, having had a rather bad few days, in which I have been in excruciating pain and dosed liberally with pain-killers that never quite seem to hit the mark, I finally had some nous this evening. I caught up on my emails and responded as follows:

Of course I can go abroad. But it takes careful planning.

You have not taken account of the need for recuperation, typically a couple of days. Whilst I could attend a medical examination, as soon as I arrived I would need to rest for typically 2 to 6 hours; but depending on the level of exhaustion could be up to 22 hours. You would therefore need to make available a darkened, very quiet room where I could sleep until recovered. Of course, if a relapse is set off due to excessive stress I could end up being there for several days or even weeks.

You have not taken account of the need to rest up and store up energy prior to my making any undertaking. Again this takes several days, depending on my state of health at the time.

You have not taken account of the need to take pain-killers prior to taking any physical activity, nor the increased number that have to be taken post activity. These drugs, whilst they mean I can travel, also have the effect of putting me into drowsiness or a sleep state, depending on the number taken and the state of my health at the time.

You have not taken account of the need for a carer. When travelling I take at least one with me and if needed arrange for a second as well. The trip I shall be taking in June is because my housemate is at a conference and there is no-one else to care for me at home. I therefore have to travel with him, where I shall be holed up in a hotel-room until (assuming I do) recover. I have no carer who can accompany me to a medical examination and as such will be at risk, unless you are wiling to pay my housemate £400 to cover a lost day's pay. Hence the need for an ambulance to collect me.

You have not taken account of the fact that both by NHS consultant and my GP advise me to go abroad for my health, otherwise I should be even iller at home and thus require more care & health support.

Given your on-going failures to act reasonably, I am copying in my GP and my MP.

Sort this mess out and use some common-sense!

Colin

FAO DR. E[…]: DWP refuse to contact you to conf[I]rm home assessment needed.

FAO Graham Brady: Please can you now intervene for as you can see DWP playing silly-beggars. By the by, would you like to attend my medical examination, so you can see what a disabled person has to go through in respect to PIP?

If lives were not at stake, this might not be so serious and rather amusing; but folk have committed and are attempting suicide because of the way ATOS & DWP treat us.

Disablies are Dying in the UK

I have been having a really bad few months.

Since prior to my housemate finding new employment, I have been trying to obtain a formal statement of need from my local social services.  I had one but being socially minded, I chose to let my housemate look after me whilst he was unemployed, thus saving the Council money in paying for formal carers. A social worker got involved this time, instead of the usual council assessors. The assistance was requested in October, and only just before this bank holiday weekend did the social worker contact me with her assessment, which completely ignores my known needs as backed by my own G.P. (family doctor). This will now of course require me to appeal, further delaying the assistance I need to eat, take medications and deal with my personal care. My housemate now is so fed up of it all, that he has decided to throw his hat in the ring and advise Trafford Council that they either come up with an appropriate care package, or he will refuse any caring for me. This of course will then mean the council and social services will have to provide a much more expensive package as well as the cost of more frequent visits from the social worker and other bureaucrats. There is a social care crisis in England & Wales: tens of thousands of elderly, disabled and sick folk cannot obtain a care plan and thus the care they need just to stay alive.

I was assaulted and injured in December by an acquaintance who knew full well I am disabled and could not fight back. Because he is dating one of my good friends I feel constrained about reporting it to the police, as he would end up with a criminal record and the likelihood is that he would lose his livelihood. This then would likely put inordinate pressures on my friend’s affinity. The evidence is mixed, but the general consensus is that disability hate crimes have been on the increase since 2010. A report by the EHRC was misreported as stating that there had been no increase; but the agency swiftly issued a clarification. Unfortunately, by then the media was reporting the non-increase in hate crime...

In January I finally received my electronic Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim-form from the UK’s notorious Department for Work & Pensions (DWP). It was necessary to get my Member of Parliament (MP) involved as the DWP were very reluctant to assist me with a non-paper form and provide me with one that could be completed via computer. This is a legal requirement of UK anti-disability discrimination legislation. However the DWP regularly fails to issue forms appropriate to inter alia blind & partially-sighted folk, for example, so is constantly breaching the Law. They also do not publicise the email address from which one can request accessible format forms. I only found it out due to having connections from my disability rights activism. (Ultimately I hope to lodge this issue with the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Unfortunately, the UK government has cut this body’s funding to the bare minimum, so that it is now very difficult for them to fulfil their statutory obligations.) Due to arthritides writing for me is exceptionally difficult if at all possible. The form is actually a forty-plus A4 page booklet. I have cognitive difficulties at the best of times; but during the winter months my (progressive) aphasia is at its worst. Thankfully, I dealt with a very understanding civil servant who permitted an extension, so I had sufficient time to fully answer all the questions. It is now more than two months since the DWP received my claim and I have still had no decision.

Very large numbers of disabled individuals have been losing their disability payments as they are moved from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) the UK’s previous, far from generous, top-up payment for the extra costs incurred by those with impairments and disabilities. Losing this extra cash is not the only ramification of being found ineligible for PIP. It is an access payment to other social security benefits, such as housing benefit and the Motability scheme, whereby one is entitled to an adapted vehicle, electric wheelchair &/or mobility-scooter. Tens of thousands of disabled folk have had their adapted transport confiscated and are now trapped in their homes, many also have lost their jobs as they are unable to access public transport. The Citizens’ Advice Bureaux (CAB) network has calculated that some half a million disabled will lose out under the UK government’s cuts to benefit payments.

[*TRIGGER WARNING* Please do not continue reading if discussion of death/suicide may upset the reader!]

One of the most under-recorded and under-shared issues occurring in the UK is the sheer huge numbers of disabled people who are being “nudged” to commit suicide or are dying due to lack of food, appropriate medicines, accommodation that means they can lead independent lives, etc. The UK has gone from being one of the better countries supporting disability rights globally, to a pariah state quietly killing off its disabled & chronically sick populace. The mass media all but refuses to report on these issues, due to being in the main controlled by supporters of the ruling party. Only a few weeks ago one of these right-wingers suggested that it was appropriate that disabled folk and poor folk committed suicide in order to reduce the burden on the country’s economy - sounds similar to the polemic of 1930’s Europe and the USA, when it was euphemistically called eugenics and which led ultimately to the deaths of millions, a genocide. Currently the numbers dying due to the failures of the UK state are in the tens of thousands. This is termed ‘democide’. But when does democide become genocide?

The United Nations (UN) has already published three reports heavily critical of the UK’s approach towards the vulnerable in British society. A fourth report is due after the snap election, so too late to have any real effect on the electorate - assuming, of course, the media actually reports on the findings.

Europe has been asked by several disabled people’s organisations (DPOs) to investigate the deaths of we disablies. Up to now they have refused to do so. The UN can only write report after report. Meanwhile more disabled folk die needlessly each and every day. The relevant European Commissioner appears to have made no public statement about what is occurring in Britain. The European Union (EU) also appears completely unprepared for the tsunami of disabled/chronically sick people who will flood into Europe once BREXIT is complete, if not beforehand.

My academic background means I should have preferred to publish this blog completely annotated with supporting links to documentation, reports, statistical analyses, etc. Alas, I am not well enough to do so. However, my long-term readers know I do not exaggerate. Please do your own searches to check the facts.

The United Kingdom IS KILLING disabled &/or chronically sick individuals: family members, friends, neighbours, community members…… NO-ONE is lifting a finger to support us. I can only hope that this blog will survive to record what is happening here and that historians will once again record that the world stood by why innocents were killed by an uncaring state.

Please stand witness with me & my ilk!

*

This blog-post is published as part of Blogging Against Disablism Day 2017 (#BADD2017). For this year's articles and previous years' archives, please see here.

 

Vote Tory To Kill Your Disabled Neighbours…

It's been a hard few months for me. Nearly six months down the road, and I still have NO care plan due to the national social care crisis. However, even if my toilette is not regularly seen to, I am now eating more regularly and taking the vast majority of my meds and at the appropriate times. Still awaiting after nearly two months to hear from DWP about PIP decision, after taking me six weeks to complete the claim-form (forty-plus page booklet!). My state of health remains poor and my cognitive abilities weak. There has thus been a dearth of blog-posts. My apologies therefor.

[Image description: white background, black triangle to the left; to the right the slogan -

I will be voting

Against the

Tories

In Support Of

Disabled People

(sic) courtesy of Black Triangle]

This morning I was sent a link to a blog-post by Fiona Robertson aka @knittingquark on Twitter on the Commonspace website.

Fiona has very kindly given me permission to reblog the post in full. Please read and share either the original or my reblog, but please share it as widely as possible on any social media platform the reader happens to use. Fiona's writing is concise and lucid and makes the arguments way better than I could.

If a state "nudges" folk to suicide, then that state is guilty of murder. This IS what has been happening in the UK since 2010 due to deliberate policies of our elected government, policies that have been criticised by the United Nations.

We disablies and our carers & supporters need to let the British populace know that if they vote for the Conservatives they will be complicit in, depending on numbers, democide or genocide.

 

[Image description: blue background, EU ring of stars to the right; to the left the slogan -

Let's make June

the end of May

© n/k]

The article is entitled: 

*

Voting Tory in #GE17 is a vote to kill people like me, and you need to know why

 

Disability activist and writer Fiona Robertson says the UK's most vulnerable are screaming for help

IT IS to their credit, and to our collective doom, that the Conservative Party are masters of controlling narrative. 

Although, much of the groundwork was done during Tony Blair’s days of rhetorical tricks and language manipulation to sow doubt about the veracity of a person’s disability, to seed suspicion and harden attitudes. It is these linguistic and narrative tricks which have been used to make people think of the tens of thousands of deaths under austerity as a sad but necessary evil, or to make people ignore them completely.

They speak as if what they say is reality, and we usually just go along with it until it is.

Theresa May’s General Election announcement included a lot of these narrative devices, accusing anyone who doesn’t agree with her of treating politics as a game, and framing the vote as entirely a vote regarding Brexit and the mandate she needs in order to negotiate from a place of strength.
We cannot, under any circumstances, allow the Tories to reframe the concept of a General Election.

This is not just a vote on Brexit, it is a vote on their entire manifesto and a judgement on their policies on everything from crime to social care to housing to international relations. Voting for the Tories may well be a vote for Brexit, but it is also unquestionably a vote for certain death for some, and permanent damage to the health of tens of thousands of disabled people.

Never, ever forget that.

When I and my fellow disability activists woke up on the morning after the last General Election, we spent an unrelenting few days tag teaming as we tried to keep people in our community alive. We were not always successful. Over and over, hour after hour, we saw iterations of the same message: "I do not think I will survive this government."

The day of the election, we had all taken a few moments to remember the people who were not there to vote because of the actions of the coalition government. We took a moment to think of the people who would not make it to the next election if we lost. 

Amid the elation so many in Scotland felt at the sweep of SNP seats, we disabled people also felt utterly betrayed and hopeless, because the population of the UK had voted to enforce extreme, frequently lethal, damage to our health.

If you do it again, if you do this to us again, we will never forgive you. You can't pretend you don't know, you can't pretend that other things are more important, that it’s not the killing of disabled people you’re voting for really; it’s the other stuff. 
 
The point of civic nationalism is that we have to take responsibility for the choices we make as part of a society. We cannot tick a box and say 'I didn’t know', or 'I care about this bit but not the other bits'. 

We have to weigh our decisions, weigh our actions and inactions, and live with the results. We have to accept responsibility, and we have to ensure that others accept their responsibility. We have to not look away.

There were 30,000 extra deaths in England and Wales in 2015 as a result of cuts to health and social care, according to research by Oxford University. There were hundreds of suicides by the very lowest estimates, though we who spend our days working with people who are struggling to survive this government know there are more which aren’t counted; that there are many, many deaths because the stress and fear and pain and malnutrition and isolation exacerbated a person’s condition to the point of lethality. 

More than 50,000 people have lost their motability vehicles and become chronically isolated. Every one of those is someone who was considered disabled enough to require high mobility care until the Tories changed the narrative of who deserved assistance, against all the evidence from expert organisations who responded to the consultation. 

There has been "almost universal" deterioration in and frequently permanent damage to the mental health of people going through the Work Capability Assessment.

We have to be completely clear to the people we speak to. We can no longer afford to mince words or be neutral because, again, the narrative is that neutrality is rationality. In situations like this, anger and bluntness are the only rational responses.

We need to tell them, with no platitudes or appeasement: "You will be voting to allow the government to kill us. We will not forget, and we will not forgive."

Nothing else is more important than this.

Do not let them change the conversation.

*

BREXIT is not as yet a fait accompli: it can still be stopped. The rights of disabled family members, friends, neighbours and disabled folk in the wider community can only be safe-guarded for the long-term within the EU and under the Council of Europe. At the moment the UK government blithely ignores international laws and treaties. Outside Europe it will be at liberty to do as it wishes with disabled and chronically sick folk. Please support us.

 

I have lost the credit for the above poster, however the creator stated that she was happy for it to be used and shared.