5 December 2019
A doctor employed by Atos says DWP put “immense pressure” on Atos to find claimants fit for work.
What: A document found by the family of Michael O’Sullivan, who took his own life in September 2013 after being found unfairly fit for work, shows that an Atos doctor made it clear that DWP was partly to blame for the decision to find him ineligible. The claim was contained in evidence provided to the General Medical Council in a complaint about the face-to-face assessment of Michael O’Sullivan in March 2013. It says: “Following the conversion of Incapacity Benefit to ESA, the DWP put immense pressure on ATOS disability analysts to deem claimants fit for work when they previously would have qualified for benefits.”
Why significant: DWP has always denied placing pressure on the company and its assessors to find claimants fit for work.
Citations
WCA death doctor: DWP put ‘immense pressure’ on Atos to find claimants fit for work, Pring, 2019