New medical checks for disabled

[Kaloki]

Article

So confused

"Ministers propose to end the automatic right to disability living allowance"

What automatic right??

"Welfare support will also be conditional on disabled people acting on government instructions to "better manage or improve their situation if appropriate"."

Right.. that sounds like it's going to be really helpful.

If you were an employer, what adaptations would you make in order to employ someone who has uncontrolled epilepsy and has on average 50+ seizures a year? who even to use a till (which is a computer screen) will need a special filter to stop the 'screen flicker'. Who is not allowed to use any heavy machinery - and even a cardbouard compacter or a large shredder is classed as heavy machinery. Who may have a seizure in the middle of the shift, and either damage things, or injure themselves, and need 6-12 hours to sleep off the after effects of the seizure, thus having to leave you a staff member down halfway through a shift?

Would you employ that person? Because in 3 years I have yet to find anyone that will. Yet I have 'passed' a DWP 'fitness to work test' as I can pick up a pencil, only have annual appointments with a Neuro because my PCT doesn't have one (so couldn't get him to help fill in the form), and I "Didn't have a seizure in front of the assessor".

So My renewal for DLA was turned down. Am I any more able to get someone to employ me? NO. In fact, the DWP's own disability advisor at the local jobcentre lus told me that he has more problems placing people with uncontrolled epilepsy in employment than he does with any other disability. He can place wheelchair bound people, blind people, people with Downs syndrome, and all manner of other disabilities. Yet has told me that due to reluctance from employers due to the unreliability of my disability, I am, in his words, "Virtually Unemployable".

Yet no disability benefits.

Kaloki, I think on the whole we agree.

No, I don't think the system should be tightened up, I just think it needs to be changed. I realise I might be coming across like I'm living in cloud cuckoo land, because none of the things I would like to see happen ever will happen, but that doesn't meant we can't talk about the ideal.

Wouldn't it be incredible if there was a service that actually asked disabled people what they need, what with them being the experts on themselves and all, both in terms of financial and practical support, and had the power to act on that.

Of course a blind person should either be given enough money to live on, or be given all the support they need to work to provide for themselves.

The system is completely fucked, to put it bluntly.

I guess I could be doing what I have criticized others for doing and focussing on my experience of disabilities. As I said earlier, the majority of that experience has been amazingy awe inspiring with very positive thinking people who have overcome horrendous situations. Also, I'm the person they see at their best, not their worst, although of course I understand that there are bad days too.

Loudlass, I've read yur posts before and thought about how shit, and blatantly unfair your situation sounds.

Just out of interest, do you have an idea about what things could be done to enable you to work? In an ideal world of course, where money to provide support isn't an issue.

You should, without a doubt be able to recieve benefits, but then you don't need me to tell you that.

I'm not sure what could be done to enable me to work. I know I couldn't work for a small business, as if I was working alone or in a small team, and had to go home halfway through a shift, it would make life very difficult for a business with few employees to take up the slack.

I theoretically could work for something like a large supermarket on checkout - but they would have to provide a screen filter for the till, which when the till is used by other personel too, might be a bit difficult.

Part of the problem is also about changing the attitudes of employers about certain disabilities. While I may not be a reliable employee all the time, and I cannot tell in advance when I'm going to be unreliable. When I am able to work and complete a shift, I work very hard. But employers are unwilling to put up with the issues that uncontrolled epilepsy can cause.

TBH, I've even been banned from a particular branch of a well known chain because I had a seizure in their shop and broke some of their shelving units. I shan't name names, but if they are that uninformed about customers, they're hardly going to employ someone with that disability, are they?

my niece is so allergic to lots of thing she was paid of by a well known supermarket chain as to risky to employ her,she looks fit and well but has severe anaphylaxis when in contact with any of the numerous things she can't tolerate,passed all the tests and told to work,no money and no chance of employment as nobody will risk having her.