Former science teacher Emma Round, 33, from Ladywood, Birmingham, has spoken out about how constant disability assessments drove her to suicidal thoughts. As part of the Wigan Pier 2017 project, she describes the trauma of facing assessments that she says are designed to cause maximum stress.
Ms Round, who lives with her husband and has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, said: 'I spent every day in the run up to my last assessment thinking about killing myself to stop the stress. The assessment process is completely inhumane, causing so much pain for people already struggling.' She added that she was left with no income for 18 months after being turned down for Employment and Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance, despite her GP stating she could hardly walk.
The assessors questioned her ability to walk ten yards into her garden, but Ms Round said such questions ignore the broader limitations: 'Once you’ve done that, what are you meant to do? What can anybody do within that distance?' She noted that assessment offices are often not wheelchair accessible, and that she was asked if she could walk up stairs despite being in a wheelchair.
Ms Round criticised the government's approach, saying: 'This is about their choices, their ideology, about who does and doesn’t deserve help, and it’s immoral.' She warned that if assisted suicide is legalised, disabled people could be driven to use it because they are made to feel like a burden. She urged continued public challenge to the system to prevent things from worsening.
