Dispatches and Panorama.

[carernotasaint]

Two programmes going out on the same night. (monday 30 July) Dispatches sent a doctor undercover to train with Atos and Panorama......well being as its the BBC who broadcasts Saints and Scroungers and the week of the Nat West meltdown there was not one mention of it on Question Time but they still found 15 mins to froth about people on benefits i think i can guess which way the Panorama one is going to go.
I think the Dispatches one on Channel 4 will be very interesting though.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/27/disability-benefit-assessors-film

Dispatches goes out at 8pm that night on Channel 4. It is titled Britain on the Sick.
Panorama is also broadcast on the same night at 8.30pm on BBC2 They have called it "Disabled or Faking It."
Im sure thats not meant to be a subliminally disabilist or inflammatory title

Got them set on my planner thanks!

As long as they are going to do a follow up of all the people who are then awarded their benefits on appeal, then it would be fine, but it can take months to win on appeal so the damage will be done, when people are shown to be fit that are trying to claim.

They should be at least made to put a disclaimer of how many get re-instated on appeal,on average, at the end.

I'm not looking forward to the threads afterwards.

If the BBC one is biased then I am going to make a written complaint.

bump as these programmes go out in less than 24 hours.

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/fitness-for-work-test-is-too-patchy-7986162.html

This is interesting:

"The test which assesses whether disabled or sick people are fit to work is "patchy" and needs improvement, an expert has said.

Professor Malcolm Harrington, the man appointed by the Government to review the Work Capability Assessment, told BBC's Panorama that as a result people who are genuinely unable to work will suffer.

Professor Harrington said: "There are certainly areas where it's still not working."

According to the programme, which airs tonight, more than 176,000 people who have been judged fit to work go to appeal tribunals each year."

Are they actually going to show interviews with people claiming benefit? Oh my God.

How intrusive is that, these people are going through enough already just being there. It's horrible, it really is. It is basically like someone saying 'we don't believe you, or your doctor, and are trying to prove you're lying'. That is the sense you get because normally they do not allow these claims, I have read at least - and you have to appeal - and most appeals are then allowed.

A letter from your doctor or any other doctor is not allowed, you have to be seen by someone who has never met you before. And that person doesn't even make the decision - that's down to a person at ATOS who has no medical training. (not sure if they have a quota to fill as well...perhaps someone can clarify this).

The system is terrible.

I will be watching the Dispatches programme.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/27/disability-benefit-assessors-film

The above article reports that disability benefit assessors may have been told to keep benefit approvals low.

The BBC has been very slow to catch up with this story. This blogger has been writing about it for several years now:

diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00:00:00Z&updated-max=2011-01-01T00:00:00Z&max-results=50

Further on from what Frothy has linked to, the same Prof Harrington is going to highlight the case of the man delared fit for work after a heart attack, who died 39 days later, the response to that will be interesting.

The programme will discuss how the appeal system alone is costing £50 million, so s saving nothing.

www.mind.org.uk/blog/7176_how_i_almost_lost_my_boyfriend_to_the_wca

Just posted in Telly Addicts about this. I feel so nervous as there are already a couple of articles from Sun and Telegrapg from the same-od-same-old angle.

Oh god. Thanks for the heads up but I don't feel strong enough to watch, atm.

I have to Get Stuff Done in real life, and can't afford to be left feeling nauseous and in bits by another programme on this.

If the BBC one is biased in favour of the Gov. i wont be surprised. Look at the way Newsnight stitched up that single mum. Ive completely lost any respect for that programme as a result.
In the same week as the NatWest/RBS disaster exploded there was NOT one question asked about it on Question Time NOT ONE. But they still found 15 mins to moan about people on benefits. No questions pertaining to the Nat West disaster on the following weeks show either.
Earlier this year John Humphreys did a very biased show about benefit claimants on BBC2.
Then a few months later he did a Panorama programme in Greece about how awful it was that people over there were having to rely on charities and food banks.
Now i know Greece have a bigger crisis than us but people are having to use food banks over here john you fuckwit!
And idiots like him simply REFUSE to see that demonizing low income people the way he does will make it even worse over here.
I have NO FAITH in the BBC at all when they deal with issues like this. They tow the Government line. Too frightened of losing the TV licence.

looks like im not the only one with this opinion.

socialwelfareunion.org/archives/875

I think I will avoid this like the plague.
same way I have hidden the Atos thread in this topic.
I do hope mn will not be full of the not nice guy type posts that will just lead to more hatred for the disabled.

Having just watched both programmes I have to say Atos are cunts. And I'm more than pleasantly surprised that the BBC didn't peddle the Tory lies like they usually do.

Yes, I too am surprised by the angle the BBC one took. Yes, they showed a few benefit frauds tees at the very start of the program, but turned it around quickly by saying that most people now believe that it is NOT fraudsters that are the problem with ESA. I think it was quite well done, actually.

They did secret filming, showing the ridiculousness of the test, they highlighted the issues faced by people with MH issues.

The only thing that bothered me is that NEITHER program even touched on the issues faced by those of us with neurological disabilities, like epilepsy or Autism. OK the Been one showed a 5-second clip of a man with MS who had been put in the WRAG group rather than the support group, despite MS being a progressive neurological disorder, but nothing at all about other neurological disorders and how easy it is to TOTALLY fail a WCA if you don't have a progressive neurological disorder, but one which is the same for the rest of your life.

You either have Autism or you don't. With epilepsy, after 4-5 years, your epilepsy will either be fully controlled, or you will be in the 30% of people with epilepsy that never gain full control. Like me.

Another one here surprised by the angle that Panorama took. Makes a change from what theyve done lately as i mentioned upthread.
I watched both programmes too but i did notice that the Panorama one went out after Eastenders so maybe a lot of people who like to stay in denial of whats happening (like my parents) might have seen it.

Did anyone else notice at the end of Dispatches how the DWP are already trying to discredit DR Bick by referring to "past political affiliations" hmmm methinks DWP/right wing press will at least try to dig up some dirt on him. They are going to want revenge for the fact that he exposed the truth.

www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01lldrc/

Panorama

www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3388055

Dispatches.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19059299

I made the mistake of popping into the MSE site to look at the threads on this there. There are posters on there who are actually saying that people shouldnt be rewarded for being disabled.
MSE lets disabilism run rampant on their site.

I would think that if the internet and MSE had existed in the early "70s they would have been the same with racism.
To MSE if its not illegal then its fair game. Bastards.