AGXStarseed
Well-Known Member
(Not written by me. Edited to remove the word "suffered")
Cathie Wood describes how her brother Mark died weighing just 5st 8lbs, four months after being found ‘fit to work’ by Atos
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)has released figures showing at least 2,380 people died shortly after being declared ‘fit for work’ between 2011 and 2014.
The deaths were among people on Incapacity Benefit and its replacement Employment and Support Allowance – which are paid to people deemed too ill or disabled to work.
The DWP published the figures after the Information Commissioner overruled the Government's attempts to withhold the statistics.
Cathie Wood whose brother Mark died four months after being found ‘fit to work’ by Atos, said: “The DWP know they are killing people.”
"There are some prices to be paid for these austerity cuts and it’s important we know what those prices are and they are individual people who have died."
Mark Wood died weighing just 5st 8lbs, four months after being found ‘fit to work’ by Atos
Mark had both Aspergers and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which made it impossible for him to hold down a job.
He struggled to take in information and could not complete even simple tasks in a work environment. “He used to flood kitchens if he was a kitchen porter,” said Ms Wood.
She said maintaining a relationship with Mark was very difficult as he would alternate between bombarding his family with phone calls and then withdrawing into silence but the family supported him in finding somewhere to live and helped him to claim Employment Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance.
This enabled Mark to live independently and although he also had food phobias which made eating difficult he was stable and tried to participate in his community by helping people with their gardening.
That all changed in February of 2013 when Mark was visited at home by Atos. After a short assessment it was decided that he was ‘fit for work’ so his ESA and consequently his housing benefit were stopped, leaving him with just his £40 a week DLA to live off and pay his rent and all his bills.
“It all fell apart basically, he became much more ill, much more panicked, much more phobic, [he] lost all his money, [he] didn’t really understand what had happened,” said Ms Wood.
During this time his communication with his family was fragmented, sometimes he called his sister 100 times in a day, but he was never able to explain what was happening or how she could help.
The combination of the stress of having his benefits cut and the reality of not having any money to buy food led to Mark’s weight plummeting and eventually he was found dead in his home on the August 9 2013. He weighed just 5st 8lbs.
Cathie Wood: "There are some prices to be paid for these austerity cuts and it’s important we know what those prices are and they are individual people who have died."
At his inquest the Coroner Darren Salter returned a narrative verdict that concluded his death was probably due to a cardiac arrhythmia and that it was “likely that this was caused or contributed to by Mr Wood being markedly underweight and malnourished”.
After his death Ms Wood launched an appeal to have the Atos decision posthumously overturned and in March 2014 the DWP revised its original decision saying in a statement: “The coroner attributed Mr Wood's eating disorder and food phobia as the likely cause of death, rather than his benefits being stopped. However after receiving new evidence from Mark Wood's GP which was not presented at the first assessment, we have revised our original decision.”
Ms Wood believes that it was her brother’s benefits being stopped which caused his eating disorder and food phobia to suddenly worsen in the months before his death.
"Why would he go from being underweight and not in great shape to dying … during that period? It’s because he gradually realised [in] April, May [and] June [that] he was in trouble and had no money.”
SOURCE (With Video): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...fter-fit-for-work-death-figures-released.html
Cathie Wood describes how her brother Mark died weighing just 5st 8lbs, four months after being found ‘fit to work’ by Atos
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)has released figures showing at least 2,380 people died shortly after being declared ‘fit for work’ between 2011 and 2014.
The deaths were among people on Incapacity Benefit and its replacement Employment and Support Allowance – which are paid to people deemed too ill or disabled to work.
The DWP published the figures after the Information Commissioner overruled the Government's attempts to withhold the statistics.
Cathie Wood whose brother Mark died four months after being found ‘fit to work’ by Atos, said: “The DWP know they are killing people.”
"There are some prices to be paid for these austerity cuts and it’s important we know what those prices are and they are individual people who have died."
Mark Wood died weighing just 5st 8lbs, four months after being found ‘fit to work’ by Atos
Mark had both Aspergers and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder which made it impossible for him to hold down a job.
He struggled to take in information and could not complete even simple tasks in a work environment. “He used to flood kitchens if he was a kitchen porter,” said Ms Wood.
She said maintaining a relationship with Mark was very difficult as he would alternate between bombarding his family with phone calls and then withdrawing into silence but the family supported him in finding somewhere to live and helped him to claim Employment Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance.
This enabled Mark to live independently and although he also had food phobias which made eating difficult he was stable and tried to participate in his community by helping people with their gardening.
That all changed in February of 2013 when Mark was visited at home by Atos. After a short assessment it was decided that he was ‘fit for work’ so his ESA and consequently his housing benefit were stopped, leaving him with just his £40 a week DLA to live off and pay his rent and all his bills.
“It all fell apart basically, he became much more ill, much more panicked, much more phobic, [he] lost all his money, [he] didn’t really understand what had happened,” said Ms Wood.
During this time his communication with his family was fragmented, sometimes he called his sister 100 times in a day, but he was never able to explain what was happening or how she could help.
The combination of the stress of having his benefits cut and the reality of not having any money to buy food led to Mark’s weight plummeting and eventually he was found dead in his home on the August 9 2013. He weighed just 5st 8lbs.
Cathie Wood: "There are some prices to be paid for these austerity cuts and it’s important we know what those prices are and they are individual people who have died."
At his inquest the Coroner Darren Salter returned a narrative verdict that concluded his death was probably due to a cardiac arrhythmia and that it was “likely that this was caused or contributed to by Mr Wood being markedly underweight and malnourished”.
After his death Ms Wood launched an appeal to have the Atos decision posthumously overturned and in March 2014 the DWP revised its original decision saying in a statement: “The coroner attributed Mr Wood's eating disorder and food phobia as the likely cause of death, rather than his benefits being stopped. However after receiving new evidence from Mark Wood's GP which was not presented at the first assessment, we have revised our original decision.”
Ms Wood believes that it was her brother’s benefits being stopped which caused his eating disorder and food phobia to suddenly worsen in the months before his death.
"Why would he go from being underweight and not in great shape to dying … during that period? It’s because he gradually realised [in] April, May [and] June [that] he was in trouble and had no money.”
SOURCE (With Video): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...fter-fit-for-work-death-figures-released.html
