Politics and ophthalmic patients

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Loopy-Lou
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Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Loopy-Lou » Fri 08 May 2015 10:03 am

It's a very sad for this country which will see the end of the NHS and welfare state alongside grinding poverty and long term enslavement to corporate profiteering.
People on the lowest incomes, people in receipt of in-work and out of work benefits will be sanctioned harder and longer.
Now is the time to get more political and speak out because the rhetoric has succeeded despite the evidence.

These are my thoughts:

1) We have to speak out about the reluctantance to register people because of 'scrounger' rhetoric because there's nothing to lose now. Eye hospitals have to be accountable, we have to make them accountable.

2) More people will end up in a position where they won't be able to afford saline, lens solutions or even a new NHS lens, we need to pressure the eye hospitals to step up to the plate to address this, and we need to pressure them to do so, and in the meanwhile look at setting up solutions 'food banks'.

3) More visually impaired people will lose their support, we need some cross body/charity working and get more assertively active like other groups such as Disabled People Against Cuts.

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Loopy-Lou » Fri 08 May 2015 7:52 pm

Access to Work is being cut (announced hours after election results) the biggest single users of the fund are people with visual and hearing impairments

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Andrew MacLean » Sun 10 May 2015 8:21 am

I benefitted from Access to Work when I lost my sight. Along with my employer, they equipped my workspace with all sorts of aids: video reader, talking computer etc. It is sad that people, in the future, will not have this sort of help. There may be people forced into unemployment who, in my time, would have been enabled to remain in work.
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Anne Klepacz
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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Anne Klepacz » Sun 10 May 2015 11:10 am

Thanks for this, Lou. Definitely something we need to be aware of. But what we need is examples of how any cuts impact people with KC, so I'd ask any forum users to please post their experiences of applying for benefits such as PIPs and ESA, difficulty in paying for solutions or lenses, any issues with Access to Work or getting help as a student. If we are to be assertive, we need concrete examples to quote.
As far as Access to Work is concerned, the only definite change that was announced in March this year was a cap of around 40K per annum per person for AWA support. That isn't likely to affect any help for someone with KC. The main impact is on those who in the past have been allocated a full time support worker to work alongside them, which mainly affects deaf or deafblind people. So it's the charities for the deaf who have been campaigning on this so far.
Of course, the cuts to AWA may not stop at the cap, so again please everybody alert us to anything you see on the subject.

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Anne Klepacz » Sun 10 May 2015 11:15 am

PS
I posted the link to a petition against proposed changes to DSA (help for students) last year. I have no idea how many people signed it, but it's not too late!
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15704&p=71788&hilit=student+support#p71788
Oops - spoke too soon! Petitions have disappeared because of the election for the moment, but hopefully it will be back in a few days.

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Loopy-Lou » Sun 10 May 2015 4:54 pm

If members want privacy Anne could you be PM'd to receive examples of being unable to apply for support or it being cut, unable to afford solutions/lenses?

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Loopy-Lou » Sun 10 May 2015 4:55 pm

Of course those in very dire circumstances may not even have internet access to comment.
I do think pressure needs to be put on eye hospitals over patients on JSA or sanctioned who will be struggling.

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Anne Klepacz » Sun 10 May 2015 4:59 pm

Sorry - I should have said that people can PM me or e-mail me on anne@keratoconus-group.org.uk if they prefer not to put details on the open forum. Thanks, Lou.

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Re: Politics and ophthalmic patients

Postby Loopy-Lou » Tue 12 May 2015 2:50 pm

Felt sick hearing this.. "I was told I chose to go blind so I can get benefits", I'm aware of increased disability hate crimes including public interrogation of people with a visible disability and their 'validity' but that took the biscuit.


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