Human Cost: 10,000 Cuts and Counting

In the UK a scandal is quietly brewing which much of the media chooses to quietly side-line or ignore altogether.  You might think that when over 10,000 people have died the government might sit up and take notice.  September 28 saw many people come together who refuse to take this situation any longer.

Here is a little background for those of you outside of the UK. ATOS Healthcare carries out disability assessments on behalf of Prime Minister David Cameron’s coalition government -specifically the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is basically outsourced work which the government does not want to do itself. Currently, ATOS is being investigated by the National Audit Office (NAO) in a in a major “value for money study”.

Meanwhile, since the inception of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA), 10,600 people have died within six weeks of being deemed ‘fit for work’ by ATOS healthcare professionals.

Human Cost documents ‘10,000 Cuts & Counting’, held on the 28th of September, 2013 at Parliament Square, a ceremony of remembrance and solidarity for those who have had their lives devastated by Cameron’s austerity programmes.  10,600 flowers were laid in front of Parliament to highlight the devastation caused by the current UK government. This video was made by You and I Films.