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Man who ‘died for 10 minutes’ due to severe heart problems has disability benefit cut to £20 a week

Mr Coe, 60 from Norwich, has lost nearly all his disability benefit despite the court ruling in April that due to his heart condition and anxiety working would result in 'substantial risk of further deterioration to his health'
Mr Coe, 60 from Norwich, has lost nearly all his disability benefit despite the court ruling in April that due to his heart condition and anxiety working would result in 'substantial risk of further deterioration to his health'

A man whose heart stopped beating for almost 10 minutes after he suffered a cardiac arrest has had his disability benefits cut to just £20 a week.

Courts ruled last year that David Coe would risk further deterioration to his health if he was forced to work.

But in October, the 60-year-old from Norwich had his disability support reduced to just £20 a week by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The former B&B owner suffered a cardiac arrest last February as he walked home from signing on at the job centre.

His heartbeat “flatlined” for nearly 10 minutes as doctors tried to resuscitate him and eventually he was saved.

Several months prior to this, he had been told by assessors contracted by the DWP that he was well enough to find work and therefore wasn't eligible for Employment Support Allowance (ESA).

But after he nearly died, Mr Coe appealed the decision and in April and the First Tier Tribunal ruled in his favour.

The judge said that his heart condition and anxiety, left him "significantly limited" and that working would result in "substantial risk of further deterioration to his health".

But six months later, he was reassessed by Atos, and told by the DWP that he was no longer eligible for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which he had been receiving to help with the extra costs of living with a long-term condition.

As a result his support was cut from £130 a week to just £20.

Mr Coe, who is currently in the process of trying to appeal the decision, told The Independent: “They’ve stopped my money, but they haven't actually asked me to go back to work. From what I can gather, they still recognise that I am unemployable.

“I died for nine minutes, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. Throughout my life I’ve done everything I possibly could not to use the system. I’ve worked hard – which is probably part of the reason I’ve got these heart problems.

"I’ve never depended on people. I’ve always been an entrepreneur. I’ve employed people – so I’ve more than paid my fair share. To be treated like this is absolutely unbelievable. I have always been a Conservative voter, but that's changed after the way I've been treated.

"They’re hiding behind Atos, and they’ve scraped the barrel. They just see us as slime at the bottom of the barrel. And there are many people in this country who are ill, like me, but are being treated this way. Everyone knows about it, but it still continues."

It emerged last month that the PIP system was wrongly denying disabled people financial support at a higher rate than ever. DWP figures show decisions not to award the benefit were overturned at 68 per cent of appeal hearings between July and September this year, with a total of 14,188 cases found in favour of the claimant.

Successful appeals brought against the DWP over ESA have also soared in recent years, the figures show, with the proportion of cases found in favour of the claimant at 67 per cent in the last quarter, compared with 62 per cent in the same period last year and 58 per cent the year before.

Responding to Mr Coe's situation, Ken Butler, welfare benefits advisor at Disability Rights UK said: “Whilst it can be difficult to comment on individual cases, it’s hard to see how someone with a serious cardiac condition is likely not to qualify for disability benefits.

“Disabled people continue to contact us about poor assessment procedures for disability benefits – assessments which drive decisions on whether people get benefits or not. There are significant problems with the assessment processes for disability benefits; they are not fit for purpose.

“The DWP select committee’s investigation into benefit assessments last month described the evidence they had received as ‘disturbing’, whilst the DWP has released statistics which showed that the level of unacceptable assessments by both Atos and Capita were ‘remarkably high’.

He added: “Current assessment procedures are poorly carried out, badly administered and lousy value for money for the tax payer. In the meantime, we strongly advise people applying for disability benefits to seek help and support from benefit experts and, if they are turned down for benefits, use the independent appeals process.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “Decisions for PIP and ESA are made after careful consideration of all the evidence provided by the claimant, including supporting evidence from their GP or medical specialist.

“Only a small proportion of all decisions are overturned at appeal — just 4 per cent of PIP assessments and 5 per cent of ESA Work Capability Assessments.”