DWP Meeting 17^th Nov

DWP Moira Henderson  Bill Gunnyeon chief medical adviser

FMAUK Janet Horton  Pam Stewart

Janet Horton and Pam Stewart met with Moira Henderson and Bill Gunnyeon at The Adelphi in London.  It sounds a grand meeting place and the entrance and reception areas certainly live up to the images of splendour the name conjures up, with chandeliers and marble walls and floors.  Once passed this the upper floors are crammed with files, desks and computers that one would expect of a busy government department.

Bill and Moira made us very welcome and listened with interest while we introduced ourselves and Fibromyalgia Association UK especially to Bill who has only been in post for the last 6 months.  He comes with a wealth of experience in occupational health, which means he has a real understanding of the problems facing people who want to work but have been prevented because of disabilities and ill health.

He explained the government’s current initiative to improve the prospects for people wanting to stay in work or return to work despite health difficulties.  The emphasis is to be on ways to make this possible which would involve the employer, employee and the various health services.  This is to be outlined in a green paper early in 2006.  It is envisaged that more trained people will be needed to ensure that implementation is possible.

In an ideal situation anyone experiencing health problems affecting the work situation would find that the positive employment options would be assessed at an early stage.  From this, appropriate intervention would be planned and implemented as soon as possible.  This is better for the employer and the employee as time off work can mean loss of profit and earnings.

For people with Fibromyalgia it could mean faster diagnosis and treatment.  It could also highlight areas where diagnosis and treatment are lacking and therefore preventing any possible return to work.

The overall aim is to not simply supply help in the form of benefit, but to look at the whole situation for each individual.  There is going to be a shortfall in the number eligible workers in the future and this is seen as one way of combating this.

It is going to be interesting to see how people with Fibromyalgia fare under the new scheme and we will obviously be keen to hear your experiences, so that we can give an informed opinion to the DWP.

We did take some comments that we had been given recently, particularly about being able to drive a car and therefore not qualifying for benefit and sudden loss of benefit when the DWP are contacted for example with a change of address. These matters have or will be dealt with in the near future, so in time should no longer be the concern they are at present. However if you hear of any cases along these lines or any others that are of concern please let Janet Horton know, as it is useful to have actual cases rather than comments to feedback, this is not to say that names will be used, they will not if the person concerned indicates this.

Meanwhile we would urge you to ensure that the DWP and/or Medical Services receive any complaints that you have about DLA or IB, especially the way the assessments are conducted.  They can only act if they have specific facts, not on generalisations.  This is in your hands!

Overall the DWP is sympathetic to the circumstances surrounding Fibromyalgia (and similar conditions that are not constant in the way they affect people) and we have a good relationship with their chief advisers.