Disabled people with mental health problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and low mood are at far greater risk of having their benefits stopped than those with physical ailments, a new study shows.
Those who have a psychiatric condition are 2.4 times more likely than those with diabetes, back pain or epilepsy to lose their entitlement to DLA.
The findings are based on government data about 327,000 people with either type of health condition who switched from receiving DLA to PIP between April 2013 and October 2016.
The findings obviously raise concerns over whether those in poor mental ill health are at a disadvantage under the disability benefit system.
The research will be published next month in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
While the study says it is unclear why people with mental health problems are more likely to lose their benefits, it highlights concerns that few PIP assessors are trained in mental health.
In addition, their reliance on “informal observation” of someone’s appearance and body language as a guide to their mental state may be a factor, it suggests.
Dr Jed Boardman, a spokesman for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and an expert on welfare and mental health, said:
“A benefits system that discriminates against people with mental ill health should not be tolerated.
“The push for parity [of esteem] between physical and mental health in the health service must be extended to the welfare system to give people the support they need and the best chance of recovery.”
Source: Mentally ill people more at risk of losing benefits, study shows (www.theguardian.com)