Anthony's story
Anthony had a stroke in January but was eventually able to return to work. Ten months later he had a second stroke which left him with weakness down his right side, loss of vision, lack of concentration, poor balance, speech difficulties, memory loss and anxiety problems. In addition to these disabilities he also suffers from hearing loss and hypertension.
As a result of the stroke he could no longer continue his full time job, and had to claim Employment and Support Allowance. At the medical examination he was asked to read a Snellen chart to test visual capability. Anthony says he could read the large letter at the top and make out two letters on the next line down, at which point the Healthcare Professional terminated the test. He was not given any test for visual field. On this basis the Healthcare Professional determined that he had a 'mild vision problem' despite his being registered blind at the time. He scored no points.
As a result of this assessment Anthony's Employment and Support Allowance was terminated. He was not given any advice by the Job Centre as to his other benefit options, so went without money for a month. ESA is worth £94.25 a week for a single person in the Work Related Activity Group.
With support from an advice worker Anthony asked his GP to confirm he was 'severely short sighted and had extreme tunnel vision'. Despite presenting this evidence and a copy of Anthony's Certificate of Visual Impairment confirming he has an 'extensive loss of visual field' and is 'registered blind', the decision maker refused to revise the original decision. Eventually many months later Anthony was awarded ESA after going to an appeal tribunal.
Why Anthony failed the Work Capability Assessment
The Work Capability Assesment is currently heavily flawed, meaning there are many people like Anthony who lose out and risk never seeing the support they should. Our two biggest concerns include:
The 'fit for work' test is not fit for purpose
Problem: The test lacks appropriate questions (or 'descriptors') to see if someone is 'fit or work' that are relevant to sight loss.
Impact: This means there is no appropriate way to judge the barriers to work a blind or partially sighted person might experience
Example: one question aims to test whether an individual can physically move a box in the workplace but they won't be assessed to check whether they can see to identify the box, or judge where it needs to be moved.
The face-to-face assessment process is flawed
Problem: There is clear evidence of poor delivery of the assessment by health care professionals with insufficient knowledge or understanding of sight loss
Impact: Inadequate decisions are being made about blind and partially sighted people's capability for work.
Example: Evidence presented to RNIB by blind and partially sighted people includes rushed assessments, assumptions being made without exploration and inaccurate recording.
A joint publication from charities including RNIB, "Not Working", expressed concern that the Work Capability Assessment regularly judged seriously ill and disabled individuals "Fit for work", and therefore not eligible for ESA.