Cancer patients to face welfare tests during chemotherapy, charities warn

[denphone]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...sts?CMP=twt_fd

Thousands of seriously ill cancer patients will be forced to take medical tests and face "back to work" interviews, despite assurances from ministers that they would not make it harder for the sick to get welfare, charities have warned.

At present patients who are unable to work because of cancer and the side-effects of treatments are allowed to claim the highest rate of employment support allowance (ESA), worth up to £100 a week. More than 9,000 cancer patients were placed automatically on the welfare payment from October 2008 to June 2010. However, the expert report says this "automatic entitlement" has encouraged dependency on benefits, "encouraging wrong behaviours from employers and stigmatising cancer as something that can lead to unemployment or worklessness".

"This shows a clear disregard and understanding of what it's like to undergo punishing treatment. Patients who previously had peace of mind would face the stress and practical difficulties of getting assessed for work they are too poorly to do."

Where is it all going to end.

[Gary L]

If you look at it properly. it's nothing to do with getting people back into work, it's just to reduce the benefits paid out.

so realistically they won't be hard on these kind of people that they have now classed as fit for work and had their money reduced.

they probably won't care at all because like I said it's really just about reducing how much they get in benefits.

although. if they wanted to save more money then I suppose they could offer them a job and hope they can sanction them and take all their money away. thus reducing the benefit they get even further.

[martyh]

Originally Posted by denphone

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...sts?CMP=twt_fd







Where is it all going to end.

where's what going to end ?

this is merely a report by an adviser who acknowledges that cancer treatmeaments are varied and affect people in different ways ,and that some patients want to work but have grown dependant on a automatic benefit

from the bottom of the article which you maybe haven't read yet

n an email, Harrington said: "Macmillan provided me with compelling evidence that different cancer treatments can have an equally – and varied – debilitating effect on individuals. However, I agree with the government that forcing people to a life on benefits when they want to work is wrong." The government said that patients would be allowed to prove they were too ill to work with "documentation", and would not always be asked to undergo a complete assessment.