NEWS

Minister ignores MP call for benefit deaths probe

MINISTER for Disabled People Chloe Smith has ignored calls for an inquiry into deaths linked to failings in the benefit system.

The Government was urged to investigate as MPs were told that flaws in the assessment system for personal independence payment and employment and support allowance had resulted in “devastating” consequences.

Labour MP Marsha de Cordova said Government figures revealed in 2019 that 5,690 people had died within six months of being found fit for work in the previous decade.

Her call for an inquiry came in a debate she secured on the assessment system and the Government’s green paper on disability benefits.

She told fellow MPs that the “overwhelming body of evidence shows that the assessment frameworks for both ESAand PIP are not fit for purpose” .

In her response, Ms Smith made no mention of Ms De Cordova’s call for an inquiry, but she said: “We think our health assessments are a fair and robust approach to managing the gateway to benefits. ”

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UPLIFTING: Paul Hitchmough, left, and Tommy Dunne in the recording studio

Cancer patients face new challenges at work

A song of hope and inspiration

ASHOCK survey shows rather than sympathy and support, too many cancer patients returning to work face a lack of support and even bullying.

The research reveals most working age cancer patients feel the mental health consequences of their treatment is greater than the physical impact.

Most feel guilty about taking time off for vital treatment and worry that they are a burden to their colleagues.

And while most had received positive support from their colleagues and line managers, a significant minority said they experienced bullying.

Over half said their medical teams or occupational health professionals did not discuss their return to work, and only 22% of HR departments told patients about their right to ask for reasonable adjustments and a phased return to work.

EqualityAct

Watchdog ‘failing to bite’

ACTIVISTS are demanding to know why the equality watchdog is still failing to act over links between the Department for Work and Pensions and the deaths of disabled benefit claimants.

Reclaiming Our FuturesAlliance and Disabled PeopleAgainst Cuts wrote to the Equality and Human Rights Commission two years ago.

Their letter followed the death of Errol Graham, who starved to death after his employment and support allowance was wrongly stopped.

The watchdog promised to investigate, but senior commission executives “deprioritised” the inquiry in June 2020 due to the pandemic.

The EHRC’s disability advisory committee later said it had secured a promise from the Commission that the inquiry was still a priority.

But last year the EHRC announced plans to address “systemic barriers” facing disabled claimants. LONG-TIME friends Paul Hitchmough and Tommy Dunne – who both live with dementia – have written an uplifting song to help support others.

The song, Brave New World, encourages those diagnosed with the condition to “keep on doing all the things you do” .

Self-taught seasoned songwriter and recording artist Paul, from Liverpool, came to the attention of IDEAL, a pioneering dementia research programme based at the University of Exeter.

They commissioned him to compose a song with a message that reflected the aims of IDEAL – which stands for Improving the experience of Dementia and EnhancingActive Life.

And IDEAL’s Dr Catherine Charlwood was delighted with the result. She said: “Paul and Tommy are great ambassadors for living with dementia, for embracing life.

“We want to change the narrative around dementia to one of hope. Listening to their music you cannot ignore their creativity and talent, and the lyrics of Brave New World carry the message we’d like society to hear. ”

Paul, who worked with his long-time collaborator and friend Tommy to create the music and lyrics, said: “I want to give people living with dementia hope, a hope that was not present at the point of diagnosis, but still lurks within a person underneath the surface. “That is why the melody needed a strong lyrical content to get that message across. We do metaphorically leave our old world behind, and enter a new one in which we must adapt to survive. “That was when we came together to write the song, to show our peers and anyone who has a diagnosis of dementia to get out into this brave new world of hope. ” Brave New World will be hosted on the Living with Dementia Toolkit IDEAL created, a free resource for people with dementia and carers. This takes the research findings from the project and turns them into practical resources for people affected by dementia to use.

Tommy added: “Our song is about facing life following a diagnosis of dementia. It’s about realising that you can live a full, different life, in a world that has hope rather than despair.

“It’s about us standing beside you no matter what, so that you can live life to the full. Your life may be different, but it should not be less full. ”

To hear Brave New World, to go

www.youtu.be/vH9dKe4_ J0

‘Dementia is NOT the end of the world’ n Paul and Tommy are two of the Co-Directors of Thred CIC, an organisation which aims to be the agents of change with and for people living with dementia to reduce social isolation. To hear more of their music, visit:

www.thred.org.uk; www.gotohitchmough.com

The survey of more than 1,200 working age people living with cancer was carried out by Stephen Bevan of the Institute for Employment Studies and Barbara Wilson of Working With Cancer, who both live with the disease..

Mr Bevan said: “It is especially concerning that so few GPs and specialist cancer nurses are having conversations with patients about work. ”

Only 57% of cancer patients returning to work said they knew they were legally disabled under the 2010 EqualityAct.

Dr Liz O’Riordan, consultant breast surgeon and breast cancer patient, said: “Sadly, I am not surprised by the results of this survey. I had no idea the EqualityAct applied to every patient I operated on. “It was only when a desperate internet search led me to Working with Cancer that I realised I had rights. ”

n Working with Cancer: Tel.07919 147784