A Rattray man who needed a double heart bypass aged 30 has launched a campaign seeking to change the way cardiac conditions are assessed for disability benefits.
Bruce Grant, 53, has already attracted more than 4000 signatures to his petition calling for the Government to employ specialists in cardiology to assess cardiac patients.
Disabled campaign group Inclusion Scotland has warned hundreds of thousands of people with serious long term health conditions, such as heart conditions, who are already recognised as disabled will lose their benefits due to new criteria for Work Capability and PIP (Personal Independence Payments) assessments.
Bruce, of Glendevon Court, who has suffered severe heart failure since the age of 30 and is currently assessed for a transplant every six months, has claimed those with heart issues are up in arms over the way they are now being assessed for benefits.
He said: “The petition is asking the Government and DWP to change its assessment policies so that it can employ specialists in cardiology to assess cardiac patients.
“I’m sure and know that cardiologists know of the debilitating disabilities that cardiac events can cause. This is being overridden by unqualified individuals, a process which must be stopped.
“At present cardiac patients are being failed in these assessments due to the fact that their process is a box ticking exercise.
“The assessments are carried out by unqualified individuals, such as physiotherapists or ambulance technicians, none of which have specialist knowledge in cardiology or indeed the complexities of some cardiac conditions, and therefore are not specialist enough to comment on cardiac conditions.”
Bruce required a second double heart bypass aged 33 and in 2009 suffered a cardiac arrest, after which he was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
Further cardiac arrests in 2010 and 2011 saw his treatment upgraded so he was fitted with a resynchronization device, which is a stop gap to a transplant.
Bruce continued: “Many cardiac conditions are unseen, for example heart failure, angina, breathlessness and mental health issues related to cardiac conditions.
“The assessors ask if you can walk a certain distance but don’t ask if you have any of the above symptoms when doing this.”
Inclusion Scotland’s director of policy Bill Scott said: “Heart conditions are already counted as a disability in Equalities Law if they have a significant impact on the person’s daily life and of course people with limiting health conditions should also have access to disability benefits.
“However, hundreds of thousands of people with serious long term health conditions, including those with serious heart conditions, who are already recognised as “disabled” have already, or will in the future, lose their benefits when they undergo Work Capability and PIP Assessments.
“We therefore believe that the whole unfair assessment system has to be abolished rather than reformed so that all those disabled people, and not just those with heart failure or other coronary conditions, are protected and get the support and benefits that they need.”
Bruce’s petition is available to join at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/128773
