Sorry guys this is a long story, I will try to keep it as short as possible.

My partner has been suffering from depression for a while which eventually led to him beginning to self harm due to his work environment making his life unbearable. He was signed off on the sick and very quickly unfairly dismissed from his job (totally different issue being dealt with separately) this made his mental health even worse and our lawyer advised he apply for PIP.

We applied towards the end of last year and got an ATOS appointment through in January. It stated he had been assessed as requiring a home visit and they were coming to the house on a set date. Problem was that date was only three days from when we received the letter with my work I cannot change shifts that short notice so I called them to rearrange.

They told me the next available appointment was weeks away but they could give me a date and I asked them if they could leave it with me as I didn't have my rota that far in advance and I need to be with him. They told me on the phone that I could simply change the appointment again if needs be.

I ended up not being able to get that date either because there were too many people on annual leave that week (I am a nurse we cant get time off easily, it usually has to be organised quite far in advance) so I called to reschedule and was told this wasn't possible. I was told that if you cancelled twice it went down as a missed appointment. I argued my case and ended up phoning a complaint in to DWP who said ATOS were being unnecessarily harsh and told them to reissue the appointment. ATOS also said I hadn't called to cancel it on the day I did, they said I called the morning of which I clearly didn't since I work 0730 till 2000 and was in that day.

We waited ages weeks and weeks for a new appointment and nothing came, Called atos who said no we had missed the appointment and weren't getting another. Called DWP again who fixed it and the next day we had a letter (miraculously dated the day before my call to DWP) but it said we had to go to the assessment centre which is right in the middle of the city centre.

My partner doesn't cope in social situations, and does not cope well when around people he doesn't know he also has a learning disability that makes the prospect of going to an appointment like this even more scary for him which DWP and ATOS are aware of. I figured this was a mistake and called ATOS who said that his mental health nurse had told them he can go to the assessment centre. The mental health nurse claims she has made no such statement as she is not allowed to give a recommendation on someone she hasn't known for at least a year. The girl on the phone said she would put it through to the medical people to ask for it to be changed to a home appointment.

Literally the next day we get a letter stating he would need to attend the assessment centre, and the day after we get an appointment through for one of the other assessment centres which is in the busiest possible part of the city centre. So I called today and got the same girl (what are the chances of that?) she was so lovely on the phone stated she didn't understand how they had come to a decision that quickly and then proceeded to read out to me the report from the mental health nurse (the one who stated she hadn't been allowed to give one) she stated she had known my partner for two months (an outright lie, he has been seeing her since October and was known to the service before that) and that he has no intention to return to work (again not true he would love to return to work, just not the job he had due to what they done to him, when he is better) and that he was fit to attend an appointment.

I asked if our GP had been contacted and the girl said no, I asked why and she had no idea only telling me that the medical decision maker doesn't have to contact the GP its up to them. I then asked why they had based a decision on a statement which I disputed and was clearly an outright lie and was told it was the medical person that made the decision. I then asked to be put through to them but they don't speak to people apparently. I also informed her that my partner had cut himself the day the letter arrived and twice since because of the fear of this appointment, previous to this he had gone a fortnight or so without harming and that I would rather not go to the appointment and not get awarded pip than put him through anymore of this stress. He already had serious thoughts of ending his life on two previous occasions and I wasn't letting it get to that again.

She suggested getting our gp to contact them because he can be put through to the medical decision maker people that I cant speak to and if he explains the situation they might change their minds. I have called the GP and asked for the doctor to call me back but he isn't in till tomorrow so I will need to wait. Our GP is brilliant and I know he will do what he can to help but what can I do if they wont change their minds?

He was approved for a home appointment before the cpn put in that funny report that she promised me she hadn't done when I asked her about it stating that she wouldn't be allowed to because she hadn't known him a year. I also plan on asking the gp to confirm that he has been seeing the cpn for way more than two months, proving she is not telling the truth. nothing about his medical condition has changed or improved since he was originally approved for a home appointment so how can they state he needs to go to them. He cannot go to the city centre, hasn't been in the town for almost a year now because of fear of people. the only place he goes by himself is the doctors surgery which is on our street. he will come out with me to the shops but only if we go at night when its quiet (we have a 24hr asda close by which we go to in the early hours of the morning sometimes) but other than that he pretty much wont leave the house.

The doctor has had to put him back on diazepam since this letter arrived and I am honest to god worried that I am going to come home from a shift to find him lying in a pool of his own blood. How can I fix this? Can I fix this? How are ATOS being allowed to get away with the way they treat people? and who can I complain to?

Have you contacted the charity Mind for their advice. I am sure in some parts of the country, they have support workers who can assist with this type of situation.

I just wonder whether it is not the CPN that put in the report, but someone in their admin department and a mistake has been made. Otherwise it does not make sense.

The report from the CPN makes no sense she specifically said that she had never given them a recommendation and would not do so as she wasn't allowed. In fairness I don't really trust her because of other recent issues and am trying to get my partner moved to someone else but I doubt she would tell an outright lie. I plan on contacting the CPN again tomorrow after I speak to the GP to see if I can figure out what has happened and if/how we can get the recommendation changed/deleted/whatever they need to do to get to the truth of the situation.

No I never considered contacting Mind, I will do that first thing, thank you very much for the suggestion.

I was worried enough about how he would cope with someone coming to the house as I doubt he will be ok with that either but at least he is in a safe place in that case. I simply cannot take him to the appointment in town. Its not even somewhere you can drive to, there is no parking for miles so we would have to take a train or drive to the nearest parking and walk through the crowds, made even worse by the fact that the appointment is for first thing in the morning when it will be mega busy. I just cant put him through that.

Our GP called today and after asking my partners permission to speak to me we had a long chat about ATOS and the assessment process. He stated that no one from DWP or ATOS has ever contacted him or anyone else at the surgery as there would be a note on his file and there isn't one. I explained my concerns with going into town for the appointment and he agreed with me that it would be a terrible idea he said that even someone coming to the house wasn't ideal as it could create stress and cause my partner to get back into self harming constantly which he was doing before but that with my support at the appointment he felt a home visit if absolutely necessary would be the only way he could attend an appointment like this. He is going to contact ATOS today or tomorrow telling them that if an appointment is absolutely necessary the only way he feels this can go ahead is if someone comes to the house on a day where I can be there too. GP is also willing to help get a new CPN so so far its good news. I will need to call ATOS on Monday and see if they have come to a new decision since the appointment is for Thursday as it stands.

Poor partner is in some state having to deal with this all even though I have done all the phone calls, just thinking about it is sending his anxiety through the roof.

Good news, we got a home appointment! I still had to do quite a bit of back and forth with phone calls because ATOS said the GP hadn't contacted them but we got the right result in the end. Now I just have to hope he can get through it. Thankfully its only next week so not too long to wait because just waiting on the appointment is causing great stress

I know you have lots of other more pressing things to do, but you should complain to both ATOS and DWP about this hassle because ATOS are notorious for trying to avoid home visits at all costs, regardless of the damage it does to claimants. If you think your MP might be sympathetic (ie not a conservative) copy him in on the complaint. It will probably achieve nothing, but if no one ever complains things will definitely not change.

Don't try to do anything different for the day of the appointment, i.e. get dressed up more than usual or dressed at all if that's the norm, let them see how things are usually.

I absolutely will make a complaint to anyone who will listen because this is a ridiculous way to treat anyone, let alone someone whose mental health is so fragile.

I just keep thinking what on earth would happen if i wasnt here to deal with all this because he absolutely couldnt deal with it himself

 

I just keep thinking what on earth would happen if i wasnt here to deal with all this because he absolutely couldnt deal with it himself

This may well explain why so many people just give up on their claim when asked to attend an assessment - no doubt the government assumes it means they weren't that sick/disabled in the first place, but actually it probably includes a lot of people who were too sick or disabled and/or had no one to support them.

ATOS have admitted to me in writing that all PIP claimants are initially sent an appointment via their automated system which just picks the first available appointment in their general area and takes no account of actual travel times or any of the information provided by the claimant regarding any problems they might have attending. What's worse is that even though this breaches their contract, DWP think it's OK because claimants can phone and ask for an alternative!

we were originally assessed as needing a home appointment, but the appointment they gave didn't give me enough notice to get the time off. it was only after attempting to rearrange that we were sent the appointment for the city centre.

The appointment was today and I have to say it went much better than expected. We were given a timeslot of 1130-1330 so I deliberately sat up late last night with partner so we would sleep late this morning so we were up less time to worry. We got up at ten, had our showers breakfast etc and the woman arrived about 12 which was great because we weren't sitting waiting and worrying for hours.

Partner was obviously distressed, sat in the corner shaking most of the time but the woman was actually quite nice. Happy for me to explain things on partners behalf and even apologised for all the hassle we have had. She went into great detail about his various physical/mental health problems (he also has IBS and Asthma along with longstanding back pain) and I feel the assessment itself went well. We have to wait five weeks now to find out if we will get pip or not.

I am not back at work till Wednesday nightshift so I plan to get a complaint in to anyone worth complaining to because I am still really upset about what we have been through just to get this appointment and the length of time it has taken - our original appointment which we had to cancel was for the middle of December!

Is there anyone in particular I should be complaining to? other than DWP and ATOS themselves of course.

On the ATOS website there is an address to write to for complaints. Copy in DWP and your MP if you think it worthwhile, but don't expect a sensible response at the first attempt. The garbage they send in reply, which will basically reiterate what is on their website as obviously you're too stupid to have found and read it yourself even though you've managed to find their complaints procedure, should include the name of the person to write to in order to escalate your complaint. If/when it doesn't, that's another grounds for complaint when you write back asking that they escalate your complaint to stage 2 of the process.

Keep it fairly simple - set out a timeline in numbered paragraphs, say what you're complaining about (they failed to follow procedures resulting in hubby being asked to attend an assessment at an unsuitable location, delay, etc) and what you want them to do to put it right, which should include a payment in compensation for the lost benefit caused by their delay in sorting out a suitable assessment, then sit back and wait for the drivel they send in response. If you need help, post up a draft and I'll be happy to make suggestions.

To save you looking, the address is

Customer Relations Manager

ATOS Healthcare

PO Box 1006

Stockton on Tees

TS19 1UL

Thank you for that, I am going to look out all the letters so I have the dates etc then start working on the letter after tea.

I would appreciate your input once I have a draft, thank you very much for that.

There are some fantasatic groups on Facebook which offer help in this area as well. I can recommend the ESA and DLA Survival Guide as one such Closed Group which is exceedingly good.

I hasten to add I am nothing whatsoever to do with the running of the group.

I have been mega busy these last few days, ended up having to go into work to cover someone else off sick so i havent had two minutes to work on my letter but i just wanted to pop in and say that partner got awarded PIP. I cant believe how quickly they made their decision, he got a text on thursday morning telling him and the official letter arrived yesterday. They are backdating to the date of his original claim too which is amazing news because its one less thing to fight them over. I need to prepare for a job interview that i have tomorrow so i dont know what time i will have today, but i definitely still want to complain because the way we were treated was so unfair, even if we did get the right result in the end. I just keep thinking about people who may not have the support my partner does and what they would do in a similar situation, i need to complain in the hope that this wont happen to anyone else.

Hello Kirsty.

I can understand that you aren't happy, but at least the PIP decision was what you wanted.

Take your time over the complaint, your job interview is more important. Good luck tomorrow and well done so far.

HB x