Until she went into hospital my mother was as well as any other 82 year old, most of the time. After she did get taken in she died within 4 weeks of lung cancer.
So she presumably wasn't a cancer patient then? Rather someone who had it (and seemingly didn't know that she had it?)... nor was she presumably working at the age of 82.
Not quite, she was quite fit and did house work and cooked for herself. If she had wanted then she could have worked. Just because you draw a pension doesn't mean someone is incapable of working and many pensioners do full time jobs.
As to her condition, until she went into hospital and was x-rayed nobody had any idea that she had cancer. When she was taken in they thought she just had some infection.
Your mum was a pensioner - not a good example to use in this arguement. She wasnt claiming benefits, only a pension which she/her partner contributed to their whole lives.
She may well have been fit enough to work, but I doubt many employers would take the risk.
Just being an alcoholic or drug dependant isn't enough to get you sickness benefit, neither is just being depressed. Being obese certainly won't get you any special treatment
Except all of those have caused people to claim - especially 'depression'
re: obesity, alcohol and drug related issues:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13152349
While those figures are paraded about by politicians there is one little issue, someone can suffer from multiple issues on the list. One fairly close friend had an issue with his knee joints and back, which badly reduced his sleep. He became alcoholic because drinking alleviated the pain more than the drugs the doc was giving him. Does that put him on the sick because of the alcoholism or the inability to walk or sleep properly? It's a case of 'tick all that apply', not just one, each additional issue gives you more points and it's the total that matters. He ended up obese as well, because of his inability to exercise and drink problem. He died due to liver failure.
sometimes you need to peel back the layers. If the drugs wasnt working, he should have went for a 2nd opinion.
He promised "tough action" after government figures showed 80,000 people claimed incapacity benefits due to drink, drug or weight-related issues.
Notice the figures at the bottom - Depression isn't only a reason to claim its the top reason... nearly 400,000 claimants. This is exactly why the system needs reform - far to many people taking the mickey on conditions that are difficult to diagnose/prove.
Yep, but how many of those are ONLY suffering from depression? How many is it an additional issue?
The actual list of points is this, you are expected to score at least 15 points to get incapacity benefit, and getting those can be a struggle. Their doctors will push you off the list if at all possible.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=534086Some of them are strange and have no bearing on someone's ability to work, for instance, can a person in a wheelchair work? They could easily hold a call centre job, so yes, they can work.
How about someone who's deaf? Again, deafness doesn't stop you from working.
Incontinent? Wear a nappy.
How about this?
f Overlooks or forgets the risk posed by domestic
appliances or other common hazards due to poor
concentration
This only scores 1 point, so they are fit to work. Who cares if the have altzheimers?
The problem is that the criteria for getting incapacity benefit has no relevance to your ability to work, it's just a list of items you might or might not be able to do.
Question, if you were a businessman, would you employ Marvin the robot to work in your factory?
good posting a link to incapacity benefits... a benefit that no new claimaints have been able to get for a few years & those on it are being re-assessed for ESA the replacement.
One of the biggest 'cons' what they go for is DLA. Thats their golden ticket. Paired with ESA a claimant can get about £200 a week in benefit cash, housing benefit, council benefit, etc.
Also sometimes a free car, etc. Nothing stops a disabled person working & getting DLA btw - so yea, a wheelchair person could work in a call centre. Ive worked at a few places that employ people in chairs, as well as the deaf & blind. Credit to them for wanting to work...