ESA medical UPDATE post #30

[phil76]

Hello everyone im new here,

 

I suffer with anxiety and depression and have a medical on friday with atos,and am worried about failing the medical,i really suffer with my problems and unable to work at the moment so getting my esa stopped really worries me,since getting the letter about the medical i felt worse and has even made me cry with worry,

 

Had a look on internet and seems alot of people fail these medicals,what are the medicals like?any help appreciated

 

Thanks

[honeybee13]

Hello Phil, welcome to the forum.

 

Leemack has a great sticky about these assessments. We don't call them medicals here . To find the stickies, use the back arrow to come out of your thread, then scroll up to the yellow part above the thread titles.

 

If you have more questions, please come back to us.

 

My best, HB

[phil76]

Thank you for that,how long does it normally take for you to get the decision if you've passed the assessment or not?thanks again

 

Phil

[leemack]

Anywhere between 2-4 weeks for the decision to come through - with mine, the backpay was in the bank before I received the letter.

[phil76]

Thank you leemack,if it comes to that i have to appeal,how long does appeal process normally take?sorry for all the questions,thanks again for all your help

 

Phil

[leemack]

From what I've seen the appeal process can take from 3 months to a year.

[phil76]

Really it can take that long? am i right in saying i can still claim ESA while i am appealing?thanks again for all your help

 

Phil

[leemack]

Yes, you can be paid at the assessment rate during the wait for the appeal.

[phil76]

Thankyou so much leemack for all your help,hopefully i wont have to go through appeal process but at least i can still claim some money during appeal if i have to,

 

Thanks again

 

Phil

[honeybee13]

Wishing you luck for tomorrow, Phil, fingers crossed.

 

HB x

[phil76]

Thankyou so much HoneyBee:-) i will let you all know when i get the decision which will probably be in a few weeks although i think i probably already know what it will be:sad: but fingers crossed

 

Phil

[leemack]

Good luck, Phil, hope it goes ok for you.

[phil76]

Thankyou leemack:-)

 

the lady who saw me at assessment seemed nice anyway so its just waiting now to see if ive passed or not,will let you guys know how i get on as soon as i get the results

 

Thanks again leemack and Honeybee for your help:-)

[honeybee13]

You're welcome Phil. Please let us know how it goes, whichever way. We'll help you whatever happens. Just carry on with your life.

 

HB x

[phil76]

Thank you Honeybee:-) yeah will definately let you know what happens

 

Was just wandering the people who actually see you at the asssessment,do they know straight away after your assesssment if youve passed or not?

 

Thanks

[doktorjohn]

I think they would have a pretty good idea whether you have passed or not but the DWP have to decide based on the assessment.

 

My assessor was pleasant but only gave me 2 points I found out 2 weeks later. A smiling assassin if you will.

 

Her report on what I said at the assessment was fairly honest though and I won my appeal.

 

Good luck to you and remember a negative decision is not the end of it, you can still win.

 

- dj

[phil76]

Ok thankyou DJ How long did your appeal process take?

[doktorjohn]

My incapacity benefit was stopped in March 2010 and in June I was told my tribunal would be in August but it ended up in November due to the backlog.

 

So 8 months. But a week before the tribunal the DWP changed their decision and reinstated my benefit with back-pay.

 

Great but I will be back on the nonmagical roundabout as soon as they shunt me onto ESA.

 

I say roundabout because that's what it is for a lot of people, even when you win you can be re-assessed and lose only to win on appeal and so on.

 

I don't think the average taxpayer would be so pleased about "welfare reform" if he/she knew all this.

 

- dj

[phil76]

Thank you dj:-) Seems that appeals take a while then because leemack said from what he has seen they can take 3 -12 months,hopefully i wont have to go through that,fingers crossed

[phil76]

Hello everyone

 

I received a letter this morning, its about my medical assessment,it says i have been placed in support group and my money will rise,does this mean i have passed my assessment?and what does support group mean?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

[doktorjohn]

You have been awarded ESA and you will not be expected to work.

 

Congrats to you.

 

- dj

[phil76]

Thankyou dj,and i would like to thank everyone else,really appreciate all the help you gave me:-)

 

Am i right in saying i still need to give sick notes from my doctor for my payments?

 

Thanks again everyone

 

Phil

[Kicking-Us-Off-ESA]

Hello everyone

 

I received a letter this morning, its about my medical assessment,it says i have been placed in support group and my money will rise,does this mean i have passed my assessment?and what does support group mean?

 

Thanks

 

Phil

 

That was a quick reply after your medicle less than a week...

Yes PHIL you have passed!!!!! no more sick notes.

[phil76]

Yeah i was'nt expecting decision that quickly either:!: Are you sure i dont have to give sick notes in for my payments?

 

Thanks again

 

Phil

[ErikaPNP]

Yes, once a decision is made following a medical, certs are no longer required as it has been determined that you are not fit for work.

 

I bet that's a huge weight off your mind!