People with LONG TERM Health problems - GPs could refer you to job coaches

nannytone_2

teddysmum wrote: »

Your JC people, obviously don't try hard enough.


(Several years ago),ours suggested that my totally blind brother-in-law go for an interview for a supermarket shelf stacking job. He found it hilarious.:rotfl:

i used to be seen by the shaw trust.
they asked me to go for an interview for shelf stacking in wilkinson. it was a night shift, but didn't seem to worry about how i would get home at 2 in the morning

the JC advisors are very nice but all they can offer is basic courses in english/maths/IT. to rub it in, these courses are run by and for, sighted people, so all i could do is sit and listen.

i do live in a semi rural area though, and even the non disabled are struggling for work

BigAunty

I can understand the concerns around information management and the fear of collapsing a health service with a completely different government service. In particular, I am aware that the DWP is reviled by many claimants.

However, some of it is premised on the belief that there is something inherently punitive about asking those with illnesses to consider future employability.

When councils operate one shop stops to put all their customer facing activities in a central location, or when McMillan is allowed to put cancer support staff in public libaries, this is seen as a wise thing, maximising and targetting the public to deliver good services.

When the DWP proposes to put their employment advice services at the location which their claimants get another service that deals with the symptoms that stop them working, it is considered evil.

speedfreek1000

Remploy is owned by Maximus

Maximus have taken over the ATOS contract for WCA assessments [sic]

Sanctions for people in the WRAG group fall disproportionately on people with....... Mental Health conditions

The DWP have removed any mention mental health from all their safe guarding guidance in the last revision.

Increasingly ESA Tribunal panels are requesting your full GP record.

Remploy will be able to add comments to your GP patient record!

If remploy were independent and didn't have the power to amend my patient record then...... fine but...... this......

There is absolutely no reason why an employment advisor with zero medical or clinical qualifications or any medical experience should be allowed to annotate my health records with non medical nor clinical observations let alone any access to them in any form at all.

There's a huge DPA issue here also but.....

BigAunty

OK, again I acknowledge the DPA concerns and the fact that the DWP has a terrible reputation when it comes to decision making and treating claimants with respect.

I can see this being reacted to in the same way as the work programme for JSA claimants when they are given mandatory work experience or a community placement.

Many people in employment love to undertake voluntary work, expecting no payment for it. Many people seeking employment are motivated to get voluntary work experience to bolster their CV, keep them occupied, boost their confidence, provide them with references, provide them with a social network, develop their skills.

However, some JSA claimants find this type of conditionality humiliating, equating it to exploitation and enforced slavery despite the fact that many of the employed and unemployed embrace these activities of their own volition.

The moment you make something mandatory and strip away the choice, the more it is likely to be seen as inherently evil.

So this kind of attitude and response is going to happen for this pilot if the ESA/PIP claimant has no choice in the matter and gets referred, whatever their preference.

Does anyone know if the GPs seek permission for the referral from the claimant and seek volunteers or whether it is forced on the claimant?

nannytone_2

people on ESA WRAG can already be mandated to the work programme alongside JSA claimants.
they can be made to take part in voluntary work, courses and work experience. the only thing they can't be made to do is actually apply for jobs

GirlFromMars_2

nannytone wrote: »

people on ESA WRAG can already be mandated to the work programme alongside JSA claimants.
they can be made to take part in voluntary work, courses and work experience. the only thing they can't be made to do is actually apply for jobs

Any work that someone is made to take part in is not voluntary work. I am a volunteer, and I have worked alongside many people from previous incarnations of the work program - none of them were volunteers! Although many of them did decide to volunteer once their sentence was up.

System

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

The main target of the project is claimants with mental health conditions.

I imagine some of the people protesting will be the long-term workshy who have swapped their 'bad back' for the much more trendy 'mental health issues'

MH problems can be quite serious (mine has nearly killed me on a few occasions ), i'm lucky that in my time on ESA i was in the support group, but i imagine if my GP had tried to "encoourage" me back to work it would have been a disaster when i was more ill. At my lowest point the stress would probably have pushed me over the edge. However, that said had it been towards the end of my ESA claim when my MH was more stable i would have welcomed the help. As it is i got my ob with no help, but if they are going to offer help it needs to be appropriate to a persons wellness and stage of recovery.

t0rt0ise

My fear is that some people will stop going to the doctor's because they worry that they will be forced to do something that they don't feel capable of, or have their benefit cut or something. Even if they are wrong it may well stop some from seeking medical help when they need it. Doctors' surgeries should be places of safety for their patients and not be mixed up in something else.

mro

This should not happen in Doctor's surgeries.

People should not have to worry about seeing a Doctor, what they say, whether it will be used against them in this or similiar schemes. Any schemes should be outside doctor's surgeries at arms length, there shouldn't be direct involvement.

'Job coaches' working for private companies under the direction of DWP, poorly trained of questionable ability, driven by external targets, should not have access to medical records under any circumstances. They should not be allowed in doctor's surgeries to influence & interfere with treatment.

What is so disturbing, is some people here saying they can't see anything wrong with it !

SailorSam

Isn't this exactly what is happening at the moment. Anyone claiming Esa will already be called into their local Work Programme, where their coach / advisor will talk to them about getting back into work that they can do.