Outrage has poured out after it was revealed that a bowel cancer survivor was "forced to soil herself" on a three-hour call to access disability support. 

The Bedfordshire resident, who has severe arthritis, called for an enhanced medical assessment so she could receive Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

The office for Mid Bedfordshire MP Alistair Strathern said that, due to her needs, she "shockingly had no choice but to suffer the indignity of soiling [herself] to make it through the marathon call".

Mr Strathern raised the case directly with Work and Pensions Minister Mims Davies in the House of Commons last night (March 18), saying: "I was heartbroken to hear the experience of a constituent recently, when she had to go through an enhanced medical assessment for PIP.

"Due to her needs, she had to suffer the indignity of soiling herself just to complete the assessment. How on earth can that be OK? 

"I would like to understand what steps are being taken to reduce the times of these assessments, and to hear what can be done to ensure they are finally undertaken with basic human compassion."

In response, Ms Davies said: "The DWP [Department for Work and Pensions] is committed to assessing people as quickly as possible.

"I am happy to look into that particular situation to see why, in this case, the support the claimant was entitled to did not come promptly.

"Prioritising the reduction of processing times to maximise the number of assessments completed without affecting quality is key."

She also said that "the length of time for an assessment is not included in the contract between the DWP and providers", but that the average time for 2023 was 63 minutes.

The incident has caused outrage on social media, with people calling it "shocking", "appalling" and " a national disgrace".

Mr Strathern says he will continue to push for answers.