Disability research, coproduction and inclusion consultant. now over at catherinehale@bsky.social 🦋

Joined May 2012
Photos and videos
Sign today if you are unhappy with Neil Riley’s position at the ME Association change.org/p/me-association-…
2
3
262
Catherine Hale retweeted
26 Nov 2024
Is anyone able to link me to the guidance that pwSevereME should be provided with a place to lay down for outpatient stuff please? I can’t find it and the hospital are expecting me to sit up in my wheelchair for an hour before my MRI on Monday 🤦🏻‍♀️ Thank you
10
25
121
8,316
Catherine Hale retweeted
Great piece from ⁦@BigIssue⁩ giving a fair assessment of government plans to ‘Gat Britain Working.’ Lots to welcome, but experts all point to the same gaps & risks - ⁦@Sumi_RabindraK⁩ ⁦@PollardTom⁩ ⁦@Jamestaylor2⁩ ⁦@Z2K_trustbigissue.com/news/social-jus…
2
6
719
Catherine Hale retweeted
Here’s my take on the government’s rhetoric & the reality of their plans on work, disability & benefits: 🧵 1. This kind of rhetoric is damaging, even though the reality is rather different. The benefit system is a source of fear & shame for many…1/n dailymail.co.uk/news/article…
3
20
59
5,671
Catherine Hale retweeted
24 Nov 2024
Some real positives here. But no mention of the role of employers. What persuades them to hire disabled people, to make reasonable adjustments, provide part time, flexible roles? Without employer support & incentives then this is all just wasted hot air.
Our Get Britain Working plan will bring in three major changes: - Overhauling Jobcentres so they become a genuine jobs and careers service - Introducing a new Youth Guarantee so every young person is earning or learning - Giving local areas more powers to tackle inactivity
5
13
18
1,440
Catherine Hale retweeted
19 Nov 2024
“No impact assessment, until & unless the legislation passes second reading. MPs will be engaging in one of their most totemic votes of this parliament without access to all the facts - & being asked to commit on partial information” Thread 🧵 Vote No❌ news.sky.com/story/miscalcul…
4
77
102
4,214
My prediction: Neil Riley from the @MEAssociation has been Weasled. He will become the next Paul Garner writing in the media about the harassment he received from the militant ME brigade. His column sounds like it was scripted by the devil himself.
13
11
99
2,580
The thing is, people with ME don’t “rest”, we merely recharge our battery enough to be able to do the next thing. Riley’s experience of “resting” and then trying out activity speaks to a different illness than ME
“Rest didn’t help me, I rested for years and only gained more function when I started moving more again” This is a common opinion ion encountered amongst pwME who have seen some functional gains. I would argue however that this perspective comes from a logical fallacy.
1
12
422
It’s time to X-it! I am trying out the 🦋 app CatherineHale@ b l u e s k y social Hoping to find my disability and ME/cfs communities ♥️
5
204
Catherine Hale retweeted
Rhian Davies, DW’s Chief Executive said: 'This is devastating news which will further harm and demonise disabled claimants without affecting employment rates and moreover will mire the system in appeals.
1
3
1
204
Catherine Hale retweeted
28 Oct 2024
Replying to @Siobhan_ODwyer
Caring for #VerySevereME means not being able to go anywhere, ever, for decades. As @CGATist says, it's a form of exile. Banishment from all forms of public life, work, education, leisure, friendship. No exaggeration @steve_race @GwynneMP Loss of all but love for each other.
3
20
128
8,237
Catherine Hale retweeted
As a researcher of energy limiting conditions, with ME myself, this really resonates with our research findings and personal experiences. To find out more about our research see this animation youtu.be/AtdpgiNs_xg?si=K2-F…, and report: disbeliefdisregard.uk/wp-con…
Ignored, blamed, and sometimes left to die – a leading expert in ME explains the origins of a modern medical ‘scandal’ bit.ly/4eQPjKu
12
20
1,497
Catherine Hale retweeted
iNews: Don’t use benefit claimants as scapegoat in Budget, 60 activist groups tell Reeves The ME Association is one of the 63 organisations who has signed the open letter to the chancellor. See the letter: turn2us.org.uk/about-us/news… Read the full article on iNews: inews.co.uk/news/politics/do… #MECFS #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #LongCovid #pwME #Benefits #PIP #UniversalCredit
1
14
57
911
Thank you @JCeoltaSmith for this brilliant expose of the term ‘economic inactivity’ and the harm it does to our communities
A brilliant video by Dr Jenny Ceolta Smith @JCeoltaSmith made for the GM Disabled People's Panel event 'Good Employment for Disabled People' on the stigmatising language of 'economic inactivity' and Long Covid @long_covid  @workingwithLC youtu.be/tGM8v0lPDoU
2
7
321
Cut benefits for Disabled people and people will die. That’s the truth. This Government has NO idea of how Disabled & mentally unwell people live. NONE. It’s beyond offensive & inhumane to go down this economic route just to appease the right. Hands are dirty & souls are cold.
84
733
1,791
34,890
Catherine Hale retweeted
I’m a former PIP assessor - Labour’s benefit cuts will force people into poverty • former benefits assessor whistleblower said the existing processes to judge whether disabled people merited support were “cruel” and designed to “catch people out” inews.co.uk/news/pip-assesso…
24
351
536
15,282
According to stats, over 400,000 people with mobility & mental health issues will no longer be classed as unfit for work & will see their benefits cut. Labour are "On the side of working people", so by definition if you are too ill or Disabled to work, they are not on your side.
111
711
1,820
54,588
Thank you @GeorgeMonbiot this article is incredible, especially given that @guardianscience editors have been part of the dark cult of the Science Media Centre for decades!
This story is one of the most disturbing I've ever covered. It's about how the views of a deeply weird ideological sect affected science, medicine and the media, with devastating impacts on patients. Please read and pass on. This horror has to stop. theguardian.com/commentisfre…
10
85
1,289
Catherine Hale retweeted
The 'substantial risk' criteria in the Work Capability Assessment provide vital protection for people with mental health problems who'd otherwise have to survive on a pittance & face punitive conditionality. The government should scrap plans to remove them theguardian.com/society/2024…
8
78
151
21,453