Shelton man Chris Cann asked to prove he is unfit for work- despite leg amputations
A GRIEVING widower who has had both his legs amputated has been told he needs to prove he is not fit enough to work.
Chris Cann has been left housebound after losing both legs above the knee and a finger to diabetes.
-
Chris Cann has been told he needs to prove he is not fit for work
The 57-year-old has chronic arthritis in both hands and is also struggling to come to terms with the death of his partner of 11 years, Emma Wilson, earlier this month.
But in order to receive the new Employment and Support Allowance, Mr Cann has been ordered to undergo stringent medical tests which he believes will be a waste of time and money.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Sunday, May 26 2013
An assessment four years ago before he was confined to a wheelchair found he was unfit to work.
Mr Cann, of Cauldon Road, Shelton, said: “It seems a pointless task to me because I am already classed as a triple amputee by social services. It is a waste of time.
“Four years ago I was unfit to work and my health has deteriorated a lot since then. Even if I could get down there they will take one look at me and say I am unfit for work.
“I am very obviously disabled so I don’t see what tests they have to do. They are just making me jump through hoops.”
The Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) made an appointment for him at Atos Healthcare Stoke Assessment Centre on Festival Park for August 24 – just 15 days after he had his right leg amputated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.
His left leg was removed in January after he developed ulcers.
If he is deemed fit to work, Mr Cann, who was diagnosed with diabetes six years ago, says he faces losing around £600 a month in benefits.
Mr Cann, who spent 30 years working in the fast food industry, said: “I am housebound and on my own. They expect me to get a taxi which will cost me £10 each way but I can’t really do that without help.
“I can’t even get upstairs to turn the heating on so how do they expect me to go to all these places? If they insist I need these tests, then at least they could do them at my home.
“I do try to take things as they come but it has been a very hard time for me with losing my legs and Emma.”
“The added pressure of the appointment is not what I need.”
The DWP’s Work Capability Assessment are a part of the Government’s reforms to incapacity benefits.
A spokesman added: “The old system simply wrote too many people off without looking at what they were able to do.
“If someone can no longer do the job they used to do, the Work Capability Assessment looks at what other kinds of work they may be able to do.”
Atos Healthcare said Mr Cann should provide a doctor’s note to request a home visit.
A spokesman added: “We are happy to provide home visits to those who are unable to leave their home. These are based on an individual’s personal circumstances.”
Comments
by bungusafiva
Monday, August 20 2012, 8:19PM
“Y'all jus been trolled there, Alan. Couldn't keep it up no more, not even sport it's too easy to wind you up. You will be ranting and raging like your old man used to now.
I'll be back sometime soon to taunt you again. in themeantime have a great evening, just like we usedto down the Suth, remember :)”
by camband
Sunday, August 19 2012, 9:42PM
“And Cameron's always got some well trained and equipped influential 'friends' to watch his back. The Military Establishment -the top brass, trained at Sandhurst, educated at .... yes, you guessed right... Eton.
The great 'privileged stitch-up'..... Always ready to deliver, 'one in the eye from the old school tie'.”
by scfcscfc08
Sunday, August 19 2012, 5:29PM
“How can David Cameron lose his Flashman image?
http://tinyurl.com/c7duupy
By not instigating witch hunts against long suffering unfortunate people like Chris who are clearly unfit for work and by not giving huge tax cuts to his millionaire friends.”
by Johntoe
Sunday, August 19 2012, 2:41PM
“The really sad thing is that quite a large number of people who read these comments will prefer to believe bungusafiva's account of working at the CAB, than stokiemart and LongTallSarah's accounts of working there, even though they are 2 individual posters whose accounts and experiences of the CAB are very similar and far from the picture bungusafiva paints,
They will prefer to ignore all the actual evidence and checkable facts, Fraud & error in the benefits system, the DWPs OWN figures,
http://tinyurl.com/85pmgyn
They will prefer bungusafivas 'evidence' because they WANT to believe it's true, and most of them won't even look at the link,
I'm reminded of the fable of 'the emperors new clothes' All I'm saying is, he's stark bol**k naked, You could at least have a look before calling me a liar,”
by Johntoe
Sunday, August 19 2012, 2:23PM
“@ scfcscfc08
Have ANOTHER 'green un' from me!!!”
by Johntoe
Sunday, August 19 2012, 2:20PM
“@ bungusafiva
"By the way where are the Johnson brothers?"
Well one of us is right here, STILL waiting for you to provide examples of where I have "Shouted people down" (although just how one shouts someone down on a forum of any kind, is slightly puzzling)
Or examples of where I have "bullied" people,
Of course IF you think disagreeing with someone is 'bullying' them, Then yeah, I'm a bully, am I bullying you right now?
I also await examples of where I have "insulted, offended, or abused", another poster, OTHER than in retaliation, and more often than not, only after being provoked several times,
I 'try' to never be the first to throw personal insults around, however, I 'almost' always retaliate,
ALL points I made in my post, posted @ Saturday, August 18 2012, 3:58PM
The one I posted in response to the tirade of personal abuse and insults that YOU aimed at myself and my brother,
You know, the one where YOU call US "feral extremists"?
Oxford English Dictionary --'feral'
feral /ËfÉr(É)l, ËfɪÉ-/
â¶adjective
1 (of an animal or plant) in a wild state, especially after having been domesticated or cultivated.
2 resembling a wild animal: a feral snarl.
extremist/ɪkËstriËmɪst/
â¶noun
chiefly derogatory a person who holds extreme political or religious views.
NOPE nothing 'offensive' or 'insulting' there eh?
Please note, that in all the 'exchanges' between us in this thread, just WHO has been the one throwing the insults around,
You appear to be like quite a few of the 'regulars' here, who seem to believe that to disagree with them is the same as insulting them, and to defeat their 'argument' with facts, is 'personal abuse' or 'bullying' or 'shouting them down'
By the way, I still await your explanation of how YOUR anecdotal 'evidence' of "6 weeks voluntary work in ONE CAB office," in an undisclosed city, over an undisclosed period,(was it one day a week, 6 days? or 5 days a week 30 days?) in an undisclosed year,
Outweighs the DWPs OWN figures which calculate the amount of the TOTAL benefits budget expenditure lost to fraud AND error, I repeat, AND ERROR, at around 2%,
I am willing to be generous and say they might be out either way by 1%,
STILL, a hell of a way short of the 75-90% that YOU would have us believe,
What were you saying about 'extremists' again?
If you have in anyway felt bullied, offended, or insulted by this post please accept my deepest and most profound apologies.”
by PECKER66
Sunday, August 19 2012, 1:59PM
“I think the picture shows it all, they should be telling the ones who are at the pub all day everyday when there's nothing at all wrong with them about right for this gov.”
by scfcscfc08
Sunday, August 19 2012, 11:19AM
“They shouldn't be asking, what they can be taking from Chris but what extras they can give him.
How do Tories sleep?
I know, they'll comfort themselves by give £12billion of our money away next year as overses aid.
India is sending a £60million space probe to orbit Mars - while Britain hands the country £300million-a-year in aid.
http://tinyurl.com/d4yo9rr
Come on Cameron the welfare of people like Chris comes FIRST!”
by Redtone
Saturday, August 18 2012, 11:20PM
“More heat than light. So those who don't want people in wheelchairs to be forced to work to work are wicked? Amazing how the more you say the less sense you make?
A member of the Labour party you say? A shining example of how they have lost their way... any government you want, so long as it's blue!”
by stokiemart
Saturday, August 18 2012, 8:32PM
“"And a lot of those sort of people don't believe that they even have responsibilities, just entitlements. "- bungusafiva
A lot? Really? How many? Can you tell just by looking at them? I kinda lost any interest in your assertions there. Your personal experience and anecdotal evidence means very little of course, merely universalising from the particular to support your own prejudice says a lot more about the kind of person you are than it does in helping to shine a light on what's going on out there in the 'real world'. For my part I worked for the DWP as a Personal Adviser in a previous life and to say that for every genuine case there are five or more 'scammers' is utterly risible and untrue.
And I do hope the way I have put my point across passes your acceptability test. I'd be interested to find out which other forums would have banned some of the commentators here for not engaging in what you consider to be reasoned debate, you know, when you were ranting at the far Left 'feral extremist' name-calling bullies in an earlier post. Quite ironically unwise of you I thought. Ashamed? I would be if I was you.
Have an great evening :-)”