7 thoughts on “Government Advisor Plots Two Tier NHS Waiting Lists For People In Work

  1. Joseph Smith

    Another self righteous bigoted cow. She should be fired can we start a petition to get rid of her?

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  3. david

    As an NHS nurse I was forced to the back of the queue as they couldn’t even look like there was favouritism. This just means that 8 years later I am getting NI contributions from wrag (ie I might be better in 18 months) and am part of my partners income support which has gone up by £20pw as they lost their severe disability component as we were now living together. I have also been refused dla/pip for the same reason that I might get better even though statistically with my problems the longer it lasts untreated the less chance there is of recovery.

  4. Sasson Hann

    Sorry for the length of this reply Mike!

    For some of us with undiagnosable neurological-type conditions this has happened for many years, heavily influenced as we know by the ‘Biopsychosocial Model’.

    Instead of appropriate medication/treatments we were and still are offered psychological ‘therapy’. It was a full 13 years into my illness before I was given medication to help address the extreme pain and spasms I had experienced; by then I was a physical wreck and as a result lost the career I had fought hard for.

    But I engaged with the process and accepted counseling and accessed online CBT/Anxiety programmes, and to be honest, they did help me cope with the depressive side of being chronically ill, and it still does. This did not however translate in an improvement in my physical health or access to appropriate treatments.

    When the final massive deterioration caused me to have to give up work in September of 2009, just prior to that I saw the neurologist who finally prescribed something to help (though not heal), he suggested a referral to a multi-disciplinary team at the local Rhematology clinic – comprising of Pain Specialists, Physiotherapists and Psychotherapists – in order to help me cope with this new level of pain which had rather frightened me at the time. What happened there led to me now being unable to access the Rheumatology department – permanently.

    I had a session with the Pain Specialist – who obtained background information from me and she seemed to be an empathetic, understanding person: this was far from the truth. In her letter to my doctor concerning the job I was still doing she said ‘She seems to think she is a music and film technologist…’; I had in fact obtained a good degree. was still working professionally, and was studying for a masters that year: since when did you need to take a degree certificate to hospital as proof? I couldn’t travel far – perhaps no more than 25 minutes in a car before I became incredibly ill, but the Pain Specialist said, ‘She seems to think that she cannot travel far.’; well yes, that’s what I said; those are the facts.She also said that my full torso spasms were based on panic attacks. At the beginning of my illness I developed Trigeminal Neuralgia – quite common in those suffering from Central Nervous System/Neurological complaints, but the letter stated that I did not suffer from it. Even my own GP shouted at me concerning it despite me telling him I had been treated at the Maxillofacial clinic and was still taking medication for it. That letter caused a complete breakdown in our relationship. The Pain Specialist also said that my condition was partly due to my ‘complex history’. Well I’m sure that people who have been through traumatic experiences do have physical symptoms associated with depression, but the fact was that I’d had so much therapy by then I wasn’t depressed!! I was painted as a complete fantasist: I was distraught.

    Then I was referred to their psychologist and he basically dominated the clinic. I had refused to attend their 2 day a week programme as I was hardly able to attend the one hour appointments, so they booked even more therapy for me instead. And just at the point that the psychologist really messed me up and actually made me depressed again, during the 2nd therapy session, the psychologist pushed my file away from him and said that unless I agreed to attend the 2 days a week programme, he would not continue with my therapy. There was a discussion about this between us with him saying that he could make people less disabled and that his research superseded ALL other research on these undiagnosable conditions; me saying his research must be skewed since if people were as ill as me they’d never be able to attend anyway. I refused his ‘offer’, and he said that I would not be able to access the clinic again until I agreed to attend the programme. I then arranged my own physiotherapy and further counseling. It took me a further 3 years to recover psychologically.

    This is the upshot of it all. Whatever my condition is, the deteriorating muscle weakness is affecting the cartilage all over my body since the muscle cannot provide support. This results in painful part/full dislocations or tears. Early last year, this happened to both knees and I wasn’t able to straighten my legs. I can’t walk far as it is and there was now a tremendous strain put on my muscles – that were already weak – trying to compensate for basically walking like a monkey. I was very upset as I remembered that my physio had said that this is what would make me a permanent wheelchair user (whereas I just used mine if I went out).

    After a week or so I went to see my G.P. and she arranged a referral. 2 weeks later, a letter arrived from the Rheumatology clinic – it’s covering page saying ‘What to expect from your psychology appointment.’ I was livid and went back to my G.P. She said that there was nowhere else to refer me to; I asked about an Orthopedics surgeon; she said that I definitely could NOT have such an appointment. The psychologist had kept his word and prevented me from accessing the Rheumatology clinic unless I went through him again and agreed to his terms. Similarly, I again arranged my own therapy though it took at least 6 months for the condition to improve.

    I’m 50 and I’ve suffered with the knee problem for many years; it actually started just before I became ill in my late 20s early 30’s. Now contrast this with my daughter’s partner who was diagnosed with the same as me, has perhaps suffered for a couple of years and who continued in work – work where he was on his feet all day (so it couldn’t have been as severe as mine). He was referred to an orthopedic surgeon and had his operation 6 weeks after that: a stark difference to the way the NHS continue to deal with me.

    Though this post is long, I wanted to make the point that a 2 tier system already exists. I believe that assumptions were made about me due to the way I dress (alternative), and how I have my hair (dreds); it was assumed that I must have been some kind of benefit claimant/drop out: that’s why the Pain Specialist painted me as a fantasist with regard to my professional work as well as my condition.

    I also found it sinister that some NHS departments are now dominated by psychologists, the new disability deniers (along with the Pain ‘denier’ Specialists). Of course, therapy does help when you’re ill – it’s beneficial to access that – as long as they are addressing the physical problems along with it.

    It goes without saying that to try to manipulate a patient into something that they just aren’t capable of on threat of denial of physical treatment is completely unethical. But that’s just what is happening to hundreds of thousand of disabled people – perhaps more – due to the Biopsychosocio Model: establishing a two tier system for all treatments for those who do not work for whatever reason is just one step further.

    Sasson Hann

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