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A day on the Mind infoline
Posted Friday 3 December 2010
I have been working on the Mind infoline for about nine months now. Recently we have been receiving lots of calls from people who are really worried about the proposed changes to the welfare system.
We started to receive calls when the budget was announced earlier this year but we have had a lot more since the spending review last month. Many people have been ringing us really worried about what the changes will mean for them. Over the past months I have been reading the news, blogs and campaigns sections of our website and others to find out more about what is happening so I can communicate this to callers and explain how Mind is getting involved to make the review fairer for everyone.
At the Mind infoline we signpost people to the services that can help them. For example, many local Mind associations give benefits support, as well as Citizens Advice Bureaux or community based advice centres. We also have a lot of information on the Mind website about mental health and benefits.
This week in particular I have been talking to callers about the independent review of the Work Capability Assessment by Professor Harrington. The review has some really positive points and agrees with many of the issues that people talk about when they call the help line, such as the need for greater use of medical evidence alongside the assessment, as well as having mental and cognitive experts in every assessment centre so that the changes don’t unfairly discriminate against people with mental distress.
One person I spoke to was particularly positive about the review once I’d explained some of the points to him. They said that they said the only information about the review they had heard from the news was “really upsetting and negative”.
The past few weeks have also highlighted to me the impact the media can have on people. I have spoken to people who have seen the coverage and who are so worried and upset about losing the welfare support they are entitled to or even losing their homes that they have had suicidal thoughts. Many people contact us about having thoughts about ending their lives and we offer support and give them information about where they can get help in a crisis situation. Although people’s needs are very different, we always look at general medical support such as a local accident and emergency department as well as other non-NHS support.
It’s really important for me to make sure that people know about the options available to them and to try to reassure them that there is support available.
Peter, Mind infoline
Peter and the Mind infoline team speak to around 100 callers each day on a variety of subjects. Please donate to the Big Give challenge today and support the helpline throughout January. Starting on Monday 6 December, every gift to the Big Give challenge will be doubled, making your donation go twice as far.
12 Comments
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You're doing a great job - keep up the good work! Best wishes from everyone at Flintshire Mind.
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This blog is a great idea. Well done! Rally appreciate all the work you do xxx
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Support is being cut, sorry to put a dampener on this but in some areas you queue outside the CAB in the street for a couple of hours and they can only see the first 20 people. CAB's are losing funding, as are solicitors offering legal aid [and specifically for the areas many posters would need them for here].
As for the Harrington Review - the WCA assessment is still continuing, it's not being halted and rewritten. Whether the recommendations are put in place remains to be seen and there are no signs that exemptions and more options between the current two would be put in.
Ditto removal of time limits.I know the info line does a really excellent job but I need to point out that CAB/legal and other advocacy services are now very hard pressed resources - along with access to services.
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As someone with chronic mental health and physical health problems without a doubt the pending changes in Welfare benefits like many is causing a great deal of worry. And although I welcome the recommendations in the review and the government's acceptance of the concerns, it appears with the employment of a thousand new Atos staff the reassessments are going ahead as planned. Is this enough time to implement the changes, if they make the necessary changes at all? The information filtering through appears that the assessment will, if anything, be tougher. This is typical of the government and media providing confusing and conflicting information.
Students can take to the street and protest, why not us? How can we find our voices, empower ourselves. I'm bed bound at the moment but as soon as I'm able I will arrive at any protest in my wheelchair to demonstrate my out rage. Can we organise local protests, organise petitions, join campaigns like Mind, empower ourselves with information and surround ourselves with good benefit advice and mental health support. We don't have to do this alone. Living with poor mental health can, at the best of times, be an isolating and dis-empowering experience. Don't let any outside force disable us with fear. Take one day at a time, do the best we can and reach out. I believe I'm rallying myself here.
This blog is a good idea. It is important to give accurate, good , positive advice. However if things are going to be tough, I want to know, and I want to be prepared
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There won't be any changes they can't do it within 2 months,
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DLA to go now:
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2010/12/06/115956/dla-claimants-to-miss-out-in-benefits-shake-up.htmESA, DLA, travel cards all going, harder access to social housing & caps, and harder access to time limited services - it's hard to not feel that this administration just doesn't want whole sections of society to exist
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So much for approved health workers doing DLA reviews – I heard today of someone having hers done by a pharmacy rep – what next, the Saturday girl from Tesco?
Then someone else who's spine is broken hence no use of legs having their ability to walk reassessed again.
It’s taking the piss. -
This is probably old news but just in case readers don't know Welfare Rights ADVICE LINE is no longer available nationwide.
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Well, the DLA Consultation is out - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2010/dla-reform.shtml and we'll be certainly doing a survey to support our response to all the changes. Lets just hope they listen to everyone who responds...........
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Oh, yay! More consultations on my mother's future. While I sit here and cry about a new episode she is on and the impact on my family over the next six months. I prayed that she would get enough time to breathe a little before the next time. Her quality of life is non-existant and gets worse every day.
You polititions have no idea what we go through. The pain, already in the lives of these people is more than enough that anyone should have to go through. Please stop. We can't even get her help in the NHS. What PLANET are they polititions on because it's not the same one I am on???
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I hate to be a pessimist too, but the welfare system is at breaking point, and I'm aware that people with mental health issues and their carers are among those being hit hardest. More lobbying is really needed, and fast.
The new rules are meant to catch out those feigning an illness or genuinely able to work, not penalise people with long-term health problems. Unfortunately, welfare departments are actually under pressure to meet targets on reducing their customer lists! To anyone affected by this, stick at it, there are appeals and other systems to put things right. Do keep one eye on the press, but only to be well-prepared for changes, not to panic. -
The coalition would like everyone to believe that the new rules are all about catching the cheats. The problem is that the assessments are administered by a private, profit making company that is paid a bonus for every claimant they deem "fit-for-work" and they care little for the effects that their decisions have. It suits the coalition though because it achieves their aim of reducing the amount of support they give.
The coalition "believe that work is good for you" as though believing something makes it correct. Work is good for those who can and want and those who can cope. The "system" does not allow for anything else though and if you do not work you are classed as a cheating fraudster.
Concerns about the conditions under which assessments are conducted, and the attitudes of some assessors have been "addressed", and in future the coalition will try to ensure that the experience is more pleasant. This is akin to saying that they will smile while they kick the crutches away.
Too many targets, too many private interests, a "one-size-fits-all" approach and a coalition that is idealogically opposed to supporting the elderly, the vulnerable and the sick.
More lobbying is pointless. What has been done in the past has produced little in terms of changing attitudes and reassuring and protecting those who will be subjected to the "new rules". The coalition does not want to, and will not listen and they will continue with their plans regardless.
There may be an appeals process but the system is rapidly grinding to a halt with waits of up to six months, forcing the sick to live on the bare minimum allowed by ESA for that time and struggling to cope with all that comes from that. The other systems intended to put things right are becoming subject to "budget cuts" and "reorganisation" that reduces their effectiveness.
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