"Sickfluencer" calls for welfare system reform claiming people on PIP are "scapegoats"
“We are not the problem, we are the end result of a broken NHS service”
A sickfluencer' who posts videos online to help people gain disability benefits says people on PIP are "scapegoats" - after government urged to slash benefit for 670,000.
Sara Middleton, aged 47, was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder, aged 17.
Over the years she has also been diagnosed with spinal issues caused by nerve compression, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety and inflammation of the chest known as costochondritis.
On October 15, a report found one in six claimants of PIP don't face extra costs because of their disability.
Because of this, it suggests an overhaul of the system, in which one in six people would no longer be able eligible for cash payments. The report says it would save up to £4.4 billion a year.
But Sara, a mum-of-one from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, who has gained a following on TikTok helping people understand the welfare system, says the report is wrong.
She said: "These kinds of things, they never tell the truth.
"Our community, the community of disabled people, neurodivergent, people with learning difficulties, we're not a typical community. Everyone's battle is unique and different.
"They've surveyed 2,500 people with absolutely no information about who those people are.
"It doesn't say anything about who they are, their living situation, whether they have learning difficulties which means they aren't sure of the additional costs, whether they live with parents... it doesn't tell us anything."
While Sara believes that the welfare system needs reform, she claims the disabled community are being made scapegoats in the media.
She said: "For all this scapegoating going on in the media, it really surprises me that they pick on PIP. We're the smallest part of the welfare bill but we're the scapegoats.
"And the constant divisive coverage of PIP is actually making conditions like anxiety worse.
"I'd love to show people the kind of messages I get on a daily basis of people panicking, melting down, saying 'I'm so scared, I'm getting my review next month'.
"They're scared stupid. These people are absolutely petrified. You're talking about a decision that could take away their lifeline."
When Sara first set up her Instagram account last year, she would get around ten messages a week asking for advice - now, she's had 75 in the past two days.
Because of this, the 'sickfluencer' believes something big needs to change.
She said: "To be honest, my perspective is that PIP needs reforming. It really does. It needs changing to be more relevant to people and their needs.
"It shouldn't be humiliating, degrading, invasive, and traumatising, like it currently is," she said.
Sara, a motor finance administrator who also accesses £749 per month in PIP, says if her PIP was taken away, there would be a chance she could no longer work.
She said: "I've had my condition since I was 17 years old, and things have changed dramatically recently.
"My spine is collapsing in my neck, which will impinge on my spinal cord and eventually, I won't be able to walk."
And Sara says that her PIP pays for the extra things that allow her to work, like appointments and medication.
She said: "If you take that away from so many people who work, they'll become completely burned out and then they won't be able to work.
"Then, they'll go to universal credit."
She argues that the reform needs to start at the NHS, because early intervention can prevent them from spiralling.
"We are not the problem, we are the end result of a broken NHS service, because they've cut funding for decades now," she said.
"We can't get an early intervention to help us get on top of things, so nine times out of ten we're told we just have to live with it."