- Woman told to find work is in a COMA
- By Tom McTague
- Mirror News
- 23/01/2014 Make a Comment
- Contributed by: Bewitched ( 29 articles in 2014 )
Atos: Sheila Holt
Sheila Holt was sectioned after being taken off Income Support, days later she had a heart attack and fell into the coma - and is still being sent letters by assessors
A mentally ill woman forced on to the Coalition’s Work Programme is in a coma – but is still being sent letters by benefits assessors.
Bipolar patient Sheila Holt, 47, was sectioned in December after being taken off Income Support. Days later she had a heart attack and fell into the coma.
This weekend, Miss Holt, of Rochdale, Gtr Manchester, was sent a letter by Atos to ask why she was not working.
Simon Danczuk
Local Labour MP Simon Danczuk said: "I am in favour of welfare reform but trying to bulldoze through changes in a reckless and insensitive way is not the right way to go about it.
“This Government is causing a huge amount of damage and I have no doubt that Sheila’s story is being repeated in towns and cities up and down the country.
“She has a complex disability caused by severe trauma in her childhood and you cannot aggressively push vulnerable people, like Sheila, back into work because it can have, as we’ve seen, very serious health consequences.”
Her dad Kenneth said: “It’s just not right what they have done. It sent my daughter hypermanic.
“She said to me, ‘they are going to knock my money off me dad’. I said they wouldn’t do that. She wasn’t looking for a job - she couldn’t - until they forced her to.
“She hadn’t had a job for 26 years. Anyone who knew her would tell you she couldn’t do a job.”
A mentally ill woman forced on to the Coalition’s Work Programme is in a coma – but is still being sent letters by benefits assessors.
Bipolar patient Sheila Holt, 47, was sectioned in December after being taken off Income Support. Days later she had a heart attack and fell into the coma.
This weekend, Miss Holt, of Rochdale, Gtr Manchester, was sent a letter by Atos to ask why she was not working.
Simon Danczuk Local Labour MP Simon Danczuk said: "I am in favour of welfare reform but trying to bulldoze through changes in a reckless and insensitive way is not the right way to go about it.
“This Government is causing a huge amount of damage and I have no doubt that Sheila’s story is being repeated in towns and cities up and down the country.
“She has a complex disability caused by severe trauma in her childhood and you cannot aggressively push vulnerable people, like Sheila, back into work because it can have, as we’ve seen, very serious health consequences.”
Her dad Kenneth said: “It’s just not right what they have done. It sent my daughter hypermanic.
“She said to me, ‘they are going to knock my money off me dad’. I said they wouldn’t do that. She wasn’t looking for a job - she couldn’t - until they forced her to.
“She hadn’t had a job for 26 years. Anyone who knew her would tell you she couldn’t do a job.”
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sheila-holt-woman-told-find-3048449#.UuC6H9J9JnJ
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