DWP/ATOS Nightmare

[loan_ranger]

c/o: DWP Atos Healthcare Medical Services Contract

 

Medical Conditions and Categories

 

For the purposes of administrative scrutiny of cases to determine suitability for inclusion in the DLA in Medical Examination Centre project, 5 categories of case have been devised:

In 2005 the Welfare Reform Bill, which introduced the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), had not yet been enacted hence the reference to the Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

 

1. Unsuitable for calling to a Medical Examination Centre.
   
2. Reference to Medical Advisor required for advice.
   
3. Tentatively invite to Medical Examination Centre.
   
4. Invite to Medical Examination Centre.
   
5. Any other Diagnosis.
   

 

For each category a list is attached.

1. Unsuitable for calling to a Medical Examination Centre.

Age >75 years

 

Age

 

Both Blind and Deaf

Registered Blind (needs to be seen in own environment)

Cases accepted under the Special Rules defining Terminal illness.

Alzheimers

Amputation of both legs

Asperger's

Autistic Spectrum Disorder / Autism

Cerebral Palsy

Dementia

Hemiplegia

Huntingdon's Chorea

Korsakoffs Psychosis

Macmillan Nurse attending.

Motor Neurone Disease

On oxygen

Paraplegia

Quadraplegia

Renal Dialysis

Severe Mental Impairment

Severe Learning Difficulty

Spastic Diplegia

Tetraplegia

Total Parenteral Nutrition

Unstable Angina

Wernicke's Encephalopathy

2. Reference to Medical Advisor required for advice.

AIDS

Astrocytoma

Bone Marrow Transplant

Brittle Bone Disease

Cancer

Cystic Fibrosis

Dermatomyositis

Glioma

Guillane-Barre Syndrome

Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Leukaemia

Liver Failure

Mental Retardation

Mental Subnormality

Multiple Sclerosis

Muscular Dystrophy

Non Hodgkin's Lmphoma

On Morphine / MST

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Parkinson's Disease

Poliomyelitis

Polymyasitis

Registered partially sighted

Respiratory Failure

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Schizoaffective Disorder

Schizophrenia

SLE

Spinal Injury

Systemic Lupus Erythematosis

Scleroderma

5evere Depression

Thallassaemia

3. Tentatively invite to Medical Examination Centre.

Agoraphobia (offer taxi)

Anorexia Nervosa

Ataxia

Bipalar Affective Disorder / Bipolar Disease Manic Depression

Burns

Cardiomyopathy

Cerebrovascular Accident / CVA

Cerebrovascular Disease

CFS

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Crohn's Disease

Diabetic Neuropathy

Eating Disorder

Fibromyalgia

Haemopphilia

Heart Transplant

Hemiparesis

Learning Difficulties

Leg Ulcers

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / ME

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Peripheral Neuropathy

Phobic Anxiety

Sickle Cell Anaemia

Social Phobia

Spina Bifida

Stroke

Subarachnoid Haemorrage / SAH

Ulcerative Colitis

Varicose Ulcers

4. Invite to Medical Examination Centre.

Alcohol Dependence

Anaemia

Angina

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Anxiety

Arrythmia

Asthma

Atrial Fibrillation

Back Pain

Bronchiectasis

Bulimia Nervosa

Cardiac Arrythmia

Cervical Spondylosis

Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

COPD

Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary Heart Disease

Depression

Dermatitis

Diabetes

Diverticular Disease

Diverticulitis

Dizziness

Down's Syndrome

Drug Dependence

Eczema

Endometriosis

Epilepsy

Hearing Impairment

Hernia

HIV

Hypertension

Hyperthyroidism

Hypathyroidism

Hysterectomy

Incontinence

Ischaemic Heart Disease

Irritable Bowel Syndrome / IBS

Joint Pain

Kyphosis

Kyphoscoliosis

Labyrinthitis

Liver Transplant

Lumbar Spondylosis

Meniere's Disease

Migraine

Myasthenia Gravis

Neck Pain

Osteoarthritis

Osteoporosis

Overactive Thyroid

Panic Attacks

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Peripheral Vascular Disease

Personality Disorder

Prolapsed Intervertebral Disc

Psoriasis

"Registered Alcoholic"

Renal Transplant

Rheumatic Heart Disease

Scoliosis

Slipped Disc

Underactive Thyroid

Valvular Heart Disease

Varicose Veins

Visual Impairment

5. Any other Diagnosis.

Not listed above should be referred to a Medical Adviser for advice

[loan_ranger]

Sorry,I meant to ask one question,can someone please tell me,how their Doctor/Body can over rule an individuals own GP and Professor ? As I am under a Proffessor of Imunology who is the top Dog in the field.I am lucky enough to be under his care.It was due to his letter to DLA that I got awarded 3 years ??

Its so confusing.

Hi Galido, the so called "Health Care Professionals" employed by Atos are instructed to disregard the supporting evidence of the claimant's GPs, Consultants etc. and instead to base their assessments on the computerised scoring produced by a programme called LiMA (Logic-integrated Medical Assessment). LiMA is a modified version of a programme which was developed for the U.S. Medical Insurance Industry to reduce both the amounts and numbers of successful claims, thereby saving the industry money. LiMA has attracted significant criticism from the CAB, CPAG, disabilities charities and individuals such as Professor Paul Gregg who was one of the main architects of ESA's design. The government has appointed Professor Malcolm Harrington to lead a review of the (un)fairness of the "Work Capability Assessment" which is to report it's findings at the end of this year, however these flawed medicals are continuing regardless.

See:

http://brightonbenefitscampaign. wordpress.com/2... (Employment and Support Allowance: a new harsher test Brighton Benefits Campaign)

 

http://www.cas.org.uk/FileAccess.aspx?id=7323 (Unfit for Purpose - Scottish CAB evidence on ESA)

 

http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/not_working_ma... (CAB evidence on the ESA work capability assessment.)

 

DWP ESA Medical Examinations (First hand experience of the DWP ESA procedure from someone with a debilitating and life threatening brain tumour who was deemed fit by the DWP's "medical" contractor).

 

With the introduction of new Welfare Reform Acts the last government has introduced a regime of conditions and sanctions to tackle the 'terminally lazy' who've made a life-style choice of 'sucking at the welfare teat'. I would not deny that this is laudable, if it were not for the fact that zanu-liebou®s' welfare reforms carry a far more insidious hidden agenda to cut welfare spending regardless of who gets hurt by having their benefits reduced and taken away from them. The ill and disabled are seen as "low hanging fruit" being least able to fight the injustice.

 

No-one can follow the previous and current governments' irrational reliance on what is, even by the government's admission, a flawed medical assessment system, however the official line is that GP's etc. are frightened of upsetting their patients and give out sick-notes etc. too easily because they fear confrontation, I.e. they are not to be trusted. This of course is just government propaganda, as are accusations that up to 90% of claimants are playing the system - it's all designed to assist them to vilify the ill and disabled and make it easier to reduce and remove their benefits without even a murmur of disapproval from most of the electorate.

 

The ideology which gave rise to these iniquitous welfare reforms dates back to the mid nineties and has been an on-going project of the neo-liberal right to pour more tax payer money into the private sector whilst simultaneously dismantling the Welfare State.

See:

New Labour, the market state, and the end of welfare

Jonathan Rutherford looks at the connections between government and the insurance business in their joint project to reduce eligibility for sickness benefits.

 

Kindest regards,

Paul.