More than 40 doctors and nurses working for major Paralympics sponsor Atos have been reported to medical regulators for professional misconduct amid growing concerns that disabled people are being wrongly deprived of benefits, The Independent can reveal.
The French firm, which has £3.1bn of government contracts, is facing accusations that its assessors are classifying seriously sick and disabled people as suitable for work. Tara Flood, a former Paralympic gold medal-winning swimmer, said: "Atos must think that by sponsoring the Paralympics they will convince everyone that they are only here to support disabled people rather than what they actual do, which is destroy people's lives."
The General Medical Council has 16 current complaints about Atos doctors, 12 of which relate directly to their role in the much-maligned benefit assessments.
The Nursing & Midwifery Council is dealing with at least 27 complaints amid similar allegations that the nurses conducting Work Capability Assessments (WCA) have fallen short of the professional code of conduct.
Full story in the Independent.
