mental health debate in westminster hall

[desquinn]

Good debate raised by @AngelaCrawley30 and fibro was mentioned within the mental health conversation. Lack of attention by DWP to mental health parallels with fibro more info: theyworkforyou.com/whall/?i...

[Dizzytwo]

Thank you for posting Des 😊

[Mdaisy]

It's great to read that MP Newton seems to have fully understand the issues surrounding living with Fibromyalgia and is committed to addressing them

[Bananas5]

Angela was my MP when we lived in Lanark and very supportive too.

Unfortunately, and not wishing to sound political, how can we believe anything from Sarah Newton?

But we fight on

x

[skit]

Hi Des,

It took a fair number of minutes to read all the link but I'm glad I did. The Hon members are discussing what many of us know from experience. Being in an anxious state at assessments is not always obvious. Being totally stressed out before and after(awaiting decision)they never see! My old GP always knew when I had an assessment/decision due my pain shot up uncontrollably. Pity the minister on this link has never observed Atos or Capita in action?

Living with Fibro can be stressful enough without an MP who was a Dr (how can he now do both successfully ?) basically saying it is only about body language!

[bobbybobb]

It makes me angry reading how incompetent and stark some of these assessors are. Putting vulnerable people through these assessments is soul destroying. As MP Linden says, the poor service is due to privatisation. I did like the way he got the Fibromyalgia in there as well, very nice stealth move. The Minister for Work and Pensions, It's good to know the Fibromyalgia debate is still rattling around in her head and she intends to do something. you know what they say, something is better than nothing.

[VintageMustard]

If anyone is on Twitter, there is an interesting account to follow called The Not So Secret Assessor @secretassessor1. Used to work as an zaROSAssessor and then quit and is now determined to expose ATOS.

[13thAngel2019 in reply to VintageMustard]

I could do with having a chat to "The not so secret assessor" myself? After waiting to see if I could appeal the 1st tier tribunal, after being refused. I got reply from the mandatory reconsideration - the Big Brown Envelope? I've been refused an appeal to go to upper tribunal - Yet Again!! (This is second attempt at claiming for PIP after being told my DLA was being stopped and I had to claim all over again, this time for PIP?) All this stress, depression, anxiety, causing more widespread pain from my Fibro & Spondilosis, down to an Atos assessor lying through her teeth on my 1st assessment & the same happened with different assessor on my second claim but also from Atos?!! Wouldn't mind but 2nd assessor actually agreed with everything I was saying and told me not to carry on with the exercise's as she could see how much pain I was in & how breathless I was, having to take my inhalers after I'd sat down? But the report came through saying otherwise, completely different to what actually went on?!! I don't think I could go through all this again having to claim a 3rd time, what's the point????

[VintageMustard in reply to 13thAngel2019]

I urge you to join twitter or look on that account as that person welcomes contact.

[13thAngel2019 in reply to VintageMustard]

Thanks VintageMustard, I think I'll have to re - open an account? I was on years ago but can't remember my password etc! Lol

[VintageMustard in reply to 13thAngel2019]

You can get s new password easily. This person has just put up on their account lots of pages of questions that ATOS want their assessors to ask.

[VintageMustard in reply to 13thAngel2019]

Further to this, 'the not so secret assessor' today posted a link to the information ATOS provide if they are giving an assessment for chronic fatigue/ME.

[13thAngel2019]

I have just read through all of this debate and it does actually sound like something is finally going to be done about the way that the assessments for PIP and ESA are carried out? Most of these ministers seem to recognise the distress, anxiety it causes, to go through the whole procedure of claiming, and the face to face assessment, especially if we suffer from a mental illness? Fibromyalgia is both a physical and mental illness. Hopefully we will get a positive change in the way claims are assessed, so we don't have to go through the stress of the appeals process? What I would like to know is, what happens with anyone who is successful in future claims for PIP, who has previously been refused maybe 2 or 3 times when they should have been awarded it at the very beginning? After suffering all the stress, humiliation and plenty of other emotions & distress after going through the process of the claims and appeals but were wrongfully refused?!!