Middlesbrough Council - News Forum - Setting a light to the News

I have been trying to search for information concerning GP and medical specialists and if ATOS/DWP can legally ignore them with respect to saying a person is not fit or capable of working? - I found this info on a FOI reply from DWP

GPs are unlikely to have the knowledge of the benefit system or disability analysis to provide
the decision-maker with comprehensive information about the functional effects in relation to
work capability.

Furthermore, as an advocate of the patient, the individual’s GP is not in a position to provide independent advice to the decision maker on benefit entitlement.

The Work Capability Assessment is carried out by specifically trained healthcare professionals who are able to provide independent and robust advice to decision makers regarding the claimant’s functional capability.

someone on a blog said that when that happened to her she informed them that legal proceedings would take place as they had denied her benefits after her GP and medical team already informed them that she was incapable of working and they back peddled.

So can anyone tell me if they ignore your GP and make you work legally when you are not ill or not?

http://thefullfacts.com/esa/forum/viewt ... =22&t=1490

I have searched for a legal answer to this and cannot find one that provides a definitive answer
however in a court of law I do believe that if a person was forced into work against your GP and medical advice
and accidents happened to self/others that has got to be wrong.
Imagine in court specialist says we warned the company that x could not work because of Y.
HCP or similar says he could move his little finger therefore he /she is capable of work.
I mean honestly how they are getting away that is beyond me and someone somewhere is going to get hurt badly because of it.
While I accept a function could lead to some sort of capability that does not mean someone is capable of sustained capability for the purposes of work without damaging themselves further.

Scotlands Doctors Oppose Fake Atos/DWP Medicals

This is big ethical news, health professionals standing up against the fraudulent ATOS/DWP Lima computerised ‘medicals’ that are designed to reject people’s health coverage (mine included)-

Scotland’s GP’s have called for to an end to the Government’s controversial, computer-based ‘Work Capability Assessments’ carried out by French IT multinational Atos Origin for the DWP with “immediate effect”:

The following motion was passed at the Scottish Local Medical Committee Conference this week:

That this conference, in respect of Work Capability Assessments (WCA) as performed by ATOS Healthcare, believes that:
i. the inadequate computer-based assessments that are used have little regard to the nature or complexity of the needs of long term sick and disabled persons
ii. the WCA should end with immediate effect and be replaced with a rigorous and safe system that does not cause avoidable harm to some of the weakest and most vulnerable in society

John McCardle of Black Triangle Campaign has to be congratulated for his unswerving dedication to the cause of human rights in helping get this motion tabled and passed. As he says-

“The scandal of these assessments has gone on far too long. As a grassroots disabled people’s organisation, we are over the moon that Scotland’s GPs have spoken out so clearly and unequivocally in their condemnation. Our GPs recognise the severe and avoidable damage that is being done to sick and disabled people through this brutal, draconian and profoundly unjust testing regime as they see it every single day. It must be halted now – “with immediate effect” – before any further harm results and whilst the GMC launches a thorough investigation. They can no longer remain silent. They must act.”

http://www.tenpercent.org.uk/2012/03/23 ... -medicals/

Scottish GPs call for Immediate end to "Fit for Work" tests
Some good news for us all to share! Please feel free to share this as widely as possible. If you'd like to take any action, and you live in England, Northern Ireland or Wales, do consider sending this to your own GP with a short request that he or she considers pressing for similar action.
You might also like to send the press release to the GMC here gmc@gmc-uk.org urging them to take similar measures.
If you use twitter, we'll be using the hashtags #Braveheart and #GPs as we Retweet articles about this.

http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspo ... nd-to.html

Why did the DWP and Atos not want to release details of a £47m deal?
By Karl Flinders on September 24, 2010 2:22 PM
The Department of Work and Pensions is being forced to reveal some of the details of a £47m Gateway contract with Atos Origin.
Peter Collingbourne made a request for details of the contract in December 2007, and some of the requested details were released. Other parts were refused because the DWP argued that releasing the details would damage it own and Atos' commercial interests.
Collingbourne, who from what we can work out, is a Phd student in a department of Computing at Imperial college is a serial FOI requester. Here are his requests.
A tribunal has now ruled that many of the previously withheld details, apart from the
financial model and the location and specification of the Atos data centre, will now be released.
Atos was the sole bidder for the contract. Does anybody know why the information was requested in the first place and what could be interested.
The DWP has 30 days, from 20 September, to provide the information.

Location Location Location - here's a clue

Durapipe SuperFLO pipework has been installed
as part of a new £8m office and data centre development for
ATOS Origin in Livingston.

http://www.durapipe.co.uk/news/article. ... 340&Page=1