This is another piece on Atos that I’ve found on Youtube. It’s a report from Sky News, put up on the 18th October 2013, revealing that doctors have officially complained about the extra workload they are being placed under by people, who have been declared fit for work by Atos. They also reveal that the Citizens Advice Bureau had received 150,000 complaints about Atos. The report also covers the case of Mr Cowper, a man dying of cancer, who was nevertheless found fit for work by Atos. Mr Cowper is only one of tens of thousands. The precise number is unknown because the government repeatedly refuses to release the figures, claiming that such requests are ‘vexatious’. See the relevant posts over at Vox Political on Mike’s attempts to get the figures out of them.
Atos, however, are complaining that they have been victimised. Their vice-president, Wayne Gibson, turns up on the programme to state that they were working for the government for fifteen years with no protests. They feel that they have been scapegoated for the government’s policies.
Now I was first thrown off benefits when Blair/ Brown were in power. If I remember correctly, there were strong articles about Atos in Private Eye even then. Furthermore, the company cannot pass the blame wholly onto the Government. They chose to bid for the contract and administer the tests. No-one forced them. If they had an moral objections to the work, they could simply have withdrawn their services. Or, if their health care professionals are as highly trained and skilled as they said, they could have sought to change the test itself. They did not. Now I think the company is right in that the DWP must also share the blame, but this does not, by any means, excuse them.
If you want to see the video on Youtube, it’s at ‘Atos Gets 150,000 Complaints, Atos say DWP to Blame’ at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwUSa63tX0
Tags: Atos, Blair, Brown, Cancer, doctors, DWP, Mr Cowper, Private Eye, Sky News, Vox Political, Wayne Gibson
Beastrabban\'s Weblog 
February 24, 2014 at 2:05 pm |
[…] This is another piece on Atos that I've found on Youtube. It's a report from Sky News, put up on the 18th October 2013, revealing that doctors have officially complained about the extra workload th… […]
February 25, 2014 at 5:49 pm |
Reblogged this on Benefit tales.
February 25, 2014 at 7:09 pm |
Here is a timeline, subject to correction. The latest assessment regime uses a computer system called LIMA = Logic Integrated Medical Analysis. It was developed by Schlumberger and made available in 2003. Atos Origin acquired Schlumberger in 2004. DWP started using it sometime around 2011. NOW, if these dates are correct ,or nearly correct, noone assessed before 2011 or maybe shortly after the last General Election could have been tested using LIMA .Perhaps the dates are on record in the initial documents of the WCA. I have some Schlumberger documents about LIMA and will try to check .
February 25, 2014 at 7:15 pm |
Oops. It is assessment, not analysis.
February 25, 2014 at 7:47 pm |
They say that Dune exists to test the faithful…
February 25, 2014 at 10:59 pm |
One can try to “squeeze them.”
February 25, 2014 at 8:02 pm |
Yes, the date 2003 for LIMA is correct. It seems to have started out as a multipurpose programme and users’ manual system for cardiorespiratory and mental health issues. So one main problem is this: when did DWP start using a further-developed system? I have some PDFs for the original LIMA but do not know how to put these online right here.
February 26, 2014 at 10:01 am |
Reblogged this on The Greater Fool.
March 9, 2014 at 3:10 pm |
Reblogged this on stewilko's Blog.