The medical assessments system (ATOS) has been branded “cruel” by SDLP Councillor Angela Dobbins.
Cllr Angela Dobbins.
Claiming the system was h”urting the most vulnerable,” Cllr Dobbins was speaking as the trade union UNITE staged protests outside ATOS and Social Security offices in Derry and Strabane.
Cllr Dobbins said cancer sufferers were among those being forced to return for repeated fit-for-work tests carried.
She added: “At a time in their lives when their only concern should be winning the battle for life, and when people need to be supported by the government, they are actually being hounded in the most cruel way.
“The government says the scheme helps ‘weed out cheats’, but the Department of Work & Pensions are asking people with incurable, life threatening conditions to undergo multiple checks in order to keep benefits.
“It is ridiculous to have an assessment based on a tick-list that looks like it should be used for an MOT on a car, not a person.”
Cllr Dobbins said the majority of cases that go to appeal were successful in reversing the verdict, which she said highlighted the inadequacies in rulings and flagged up the enormous cost in the re-assessment process at appeal.
Cllr Dobbins called on the Minister for Social Development to take immediate action to “ensure that the most vulnerable and ill in our society are protected from undue hardship”and to monitor and scrutinize the work of ATOS to “ensure medical professionals are experienced and trained to deal with the variety of complex conditions many undergoing assessment will present.”
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