Medical Assessment for Incapacity Benefit

[Nystagmite]

They can't put you on JSA. The only person who can make a claim for benefit is you. Unless someone is your appointee.

[dolphina]

Sorry I'm a bit confused.....If the report from my medical yesterday comes back saying that they think I can now work and aren't entitled to ESA because I haven't scored 15 or more points, what happens? Help appreciated.

[reallymadwoman]

If you believe you are entitled to ESA and not fit for work you must appeal. Whilst you are waiting for the appeal to be heard you will be paid the assessment rate of ESA.

[Nystagmite]

You have to send in fit / sick notes for them to pay you ESA during the appeal.

[dolphina]

You have to send in fit / sick notes for them to pay you ESA during the appeal.

 

Even though I have been off sick for approx 9years???

[Zonker]

Yes youll have to send in 'fit notes , you have been judged to be able to work, you need a doctors note to say otherwise.

[Kazkins]

My partner had an assessment like this, and has lost his Incapacity Benefit as a result. He was interviewed by a Midwife, and declared fit to work despite having severe depression and social anxiety for years, and doctor's notes to show for it.

The interview was a few months ago, and I tried to encourage him to appeal, but the thought of facing a tribunal was too much for him, so he wouldn't do it. They continued to pay him until last month, but now the payments have stopped.

 

I am shocked, first of all, that the opinion of a Midwife, made in 15 minutes, counts for more than the opinion of the GP who has known him all through his illness. Midwives are trained in the care of pregnant women and the delivery of babies. They are not skilled in psychiatric assessment.

 

I am also distressed to find that depression and social anxiety are not really represented in the ESA questionnaire, or the questions asked at the ATOS assessment.

 

He is extremely distressed by the mere thought of visiting the Jobcentre, never mind all the hoops he will be expected to jump through there. Then there are job interviews, and then, if by some miracle there is an employer out there willing to give him a chance, there is the job...colleagues.. people. All this is a massive mountain of fear for someone who barely leaves the house at all.

 

I have contacted our local MIND, asking for advice on what to do next.

[Zonker]

Unfortunately the ESA form is so very good with its wording to enable you to not to give the all the relevant details. In my opinion, its more like a form where you always have to give more information for every box you tick. You think you answered the question, not realising why they asked the question in that way , so you dont give them the information in the way thats helpful to you. Like can you move from one seat to another right next to it. It doesnt define what type of seat, so most will think their normal seat, not a chair without arms.

[zippygbr]

Ah the myth of the midwives doing Assessment, many Midwives are also Adult /General Nurses, as for many years the only way to become a Midwife was to train as a General Nurse and then do midwifery training. Even with the Direct entry courses of the past 15 -20 years a significant number of new Midwifery registrants came from the route of second registration programmes. I have met a few Nurses/Midwives who are / could be triple registered as well. A midwife who is not eligible for registration as a Adult/ General Nurse or MH Nurse would not be able to maintain her registration by working for ATOS doing health assessments.

 

I also see the diagnosis fallacy is alive and well, DLA and ESA are NOT awarded on the basis of diagnosis. The determinations are not challenges to your diagnosis. Many Consultants even in rehab medicine will freely admit that they look to the advice of their Nursing, Physio and OT colleagues on the function and Activities of Daily Living ( ADL) abilities of patients.

 

I also see that people are forgetting that few Doctors are actually trained in conducting health and ADL assessments as opposed to taking a medical history, this is something Nurses, Physios and OTs are taught from Day 1 week 1.

 

We'll not even go into all the things that are in place to support people into work or the things that employers do to comply with the equality act, or the poor take up of these things because people don;t seek advice or get themselves all frothed before they even know if they are going to have to move benefits.

 

and before the usual Haters start, yes I have worked in the NHS, yes i do have along term mental health condition and no i don;t claim ESA because I am willing and able to go out to work rather than sit at home and feel sorry for myself.

 

the answer to 'how do I ensure I get the best chance of success with my claim?' is to get advice on the claim process and what to put in the applications and be aware of the fact that the assessments are a holistic process and not just focussed on keywords in answers.

[Nystagmite]

benefits being awarded on the basis of diagnosis is debatable. It seems as though you need a diagnosis for them to take you seriously in the first place.

[zippygbr]

benefits being awarded on the basis of diagnosis is debatable. It seems as though you need a diagnosis for them to take you seriously in the first place.

 

Topics elsewhere along these lines often have someone popping up with i've got x/y/z condition, why won't they just shower me with free money? ...

 

lack of diagnosis can be an issue, as can refusal of people to accept that there can be a somatic component to some conditions and that 'functional' problems is not an excuse for failure to find a cause.

[Nystagmite]

Topics elsewhere along these lines often have someone popping up with i've got x/y/z condition, why won't they just shower me with free money? ...

 

I've noticed this too. Yet, those of us with conditions which do cause care and mobility needs (which have been backed up by a GP) are being told there's nothing wrong. That person has never met me, nor do they have access to 20+ years of my medical history.

[Zonker]

Some conditions are pretty well in theory a gibbon tho, those on intravenous chemotherapy i think is a case. But those with a fairly common condition but are like the 1 in a 1000 to have more serious symptoms have an uphill struggle. I do agree with zippygbr that lack of a diagnosis can be an issue as well as a generic diagnosis, as we all know they like to have supporting medical evidence.

 

Ive watched enough of jezza to say there has been a certain element of the population whom beileve that benefits is the prefered way of life. Wouldnt say that so much now with a stricter regime in place. I understand , please forgive me if my words are deemed awful, that there has been a large increase of ptsd diagnosis and i was told by heathcare proffesional that bi polar was a current trend. It would seem these being diagnosed more often has led to an element of doubt of the impact of these conditions as a whole. I used those 2 conditions as an example but i hope you get the idea. More diagnoses = more doubt on the effect it has. I also agree that there are people who believe that because they have a condition that they should have benefit without realising that its how it affects you is the reason for the benefit and not because of what you have.

 

zippygbr is right about the forms, definately get advice on the forms, tho i think there is a belief that the way answers are worded can make a difference. For me i just told the truth with no exaggerations.

[Nystagmite]

It seems that there are conditions (such as borderline personality disorder and fibro) which are labels given when there's no obvious other possible diagnosis. I had this when I was younger - everything was blamed on my sight loss. It turns out I had nocturnal epilepsy, another eye condition and a problem with my brain.

[AnnoyedByDCAs]

We'll not even go into all the things that are in place to support people into work or the things that employers do to comply with the equality act, or the poor take up of these things because people don;t seek advice or get themselves all frothed before they even know if they are going to have to move benefits.

 

Meanwhile, back in the world experienced by people with genuine problems who see daily discrimination, lack of support, cuts in funding to the services that actually help them and would like nothing more than to be allowed to find a way to work within the limitations of the conditions which prevent them fitting in to the world of conventional work ...

 

The alleged support to help people get back into work which sounds wonderful turns out to be very little more than an exercise in paper shuffling so parasitic corporations can get "paid on results" by pushing the people they're supposed to be helping into inappropriate and, quite frankly, offensive training programs, taking absolutely no account of their conditions or previous work experience.

 

The measures taken by employers in order to comply with the equality act end up being the absolute minimum they can possibly do to get on the right side of the law.

 

Poor take up and not seeking advice generally comes from lack of awareness, embarrassment and previous experience of bad advice and/or things that sound good turning out to be just going through the motions to avoid legal problems.

 

and before the usual Haters start, yes I have worked in the NHS, yes i do have along term mental health condition and no i don;t claim ESA because I am willing and able to go out to work rather than sit at home and feel sorry for myself.

 

Well good for you, I'm glad there's at least one person in the UK with a long term mental condition who apparently isn't affected by the prejudice and constant battle to get support that a *lot* of others experience.

 

The implication here that other people would rather sit at home and feel sorry for themselves is hugely offensive and if you really do work in the NHS and you're a medical professional you might consider reading up on the code of conduct you're supposed to adhere to.

 

You're in work and not claiming ESA not because you are "willing and able to go out to work" but because you are fortunate enough that your condition isn't sufficiently debilitating to prevent you going out to work.

[Guest]

well said AnnoyedByDCA's