MENTAL-HEALTH AND SOCIAL-SECURITY - THE CASE OF THE INCAPACITY BENEFIT IN NORTHERN-IRELAND

Although mental illness affects people from all income levels, a signi ficant proportion of discharged psychiatric patients rely heavily on t he benefit system. Therefore, changes in benefit entitlement are of gr eat concern to these people who already find this system difficult to use. Ln the summer of 1995, using both focus groups and individual int erviews, the views of 35 individuals with mental health problems and o f five organizations involved in advocacy work were sought on the intr oduction of the Incapacity Benefit. These views raised serious questio ns about the extent to which the benefit system meets the needs of cla imants with mental health problems, on the relevance of the models of disability used in sickness benefits, and on the impact of the Incapac ity Benefit and the Job Seeker's Allowance on people with mental healt h problems and confirmed the need for further research.