Harrington: Benefit assessors missing mental health
Professor Malcolm Harrington’s independent review of the work capability assessment, published last November, raises concerns about mental health issues:
“Concerns have also been raised about assessors’ knowledge and understanding of mental health conditions…
“This is of particular attention due to the large number of people undergoing an
Atos assessment who have a mental health condition (37 per cent with primary
diagnosis) and as Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data on conditions show a significant number of people with other conditions also have a secondary diagnosis of a mental health condition.
“For example, DWP data show that 15 per cent of people with primary diagnosis other than mental health in the Work-Related Activity Group received points against the functional descriptors that would be associated with mental health conditions (such as adapting to change).
“Despite this, in some assessments, an individual’s mental health diagnosis is being missed altogether.”
